Let's play catch up

Hi

It's been quite a while since I've been here...

I have missed my little blog and my amazing friends.

This is what's been going on (the condensed version)

Remember when I was complaining about getting terrible leg

cramps last year?

I thought it was my back that was causing it, 

because I had hurt it moving a dryer,

well...

In January I went to the doctor 

and found out that I have diabetes.

THAT was the reason I was 

getting cramps.

So I went on a diet, started riding my bike 3 miles a day

and reversed it...my sugars are normal now, I've lost

weight and best of all, no more cramps!!

 Then two weeks ago my daughter moved into

 an apartment in Tempe.

 She's going to Arizona State University this year.

I'm very proud of her but I miss her so much.

The house is super quiet...my niece moved there too,

so it's just me & Helena.

Here's a video of her singing 

Bizet's Je Dis

Ive been working in my garden to distract myself

and I found a great surprise!!!

 baby pumpkins!!!

                                                             I didn't even plant seeds!

Toadstools in the corner...

 

overflowing buckets...

bright fuchsia bougainvillaea... 

I also wanted to let you know that 

I'm getting ready for Haunted Humpday

at the end of August...

If anyone has an especially creepy

scary story they'd like to share

I'd love to feature it!

Just send me an email.

well I think that it's for tonight.

I will be back in a couple of days with some

projects and updates on my gypsy wagon re-do,

and of course a give away or two:)

thank you for sticking around!!

see you soon!!

m

Flowery Frida

Hello

Hope everyone has been doing great!

I've been busy

painting, gardening, trying to get healthy:)

(that's a whole other post)

I'm sorry I've been away so long.

I have a little project to share.

Let's turn Lulu into Frida Kahlo!

 paint a Lulu doll beige

 black for the hair

add  facial features (don't forget the uni-brow)

I painted her with an off the shoulder blouse

using plum & pink acrylic.

create the skirt part by hot gluing four flower petals folded over.

paint white glue over petals then add clear/snow glitter.

add any type of artificial flower to her arm for her to hold.

Her crown is created from the center of the flower

 which was painted pink and glittered.

The 6x6 canvas is one of my favorites,

it's so thick and compact.

cover the the canvas with a pretty scrapbook or tissue paper

using regular white glue.

attach the lace border last.

finish with a coat of clear acrylic spray.

Supplies

Lulu doll

Acrylic paint in

beige, black, red, purple, pink, white

pink, clear/snow glitter

white glue

hot glue gun & glue sticks

6x6 canvas

artificial flowers

scrapbook paper or tissue

you can find the Lulu doll

and more amazing things to work with 

at Lisa's art fire shop.

visit her lovely blog and Rit dye studio for

a ton of inspiration!

Thank you for visiting, 

Ill be by to catch up with you this week!

Hello!

Hello!!

is everyone ready for tomorrow?

I don't really do a big thing here..

We'll dye eggs tonight and hide them for Helena in the morning.

but that's about it.

The weather has been nice lately, not too warm, yet.

Some Easter Sundays are so hot.

And one time it snowed!

Weird huh?

I have a few little spring-y pics to show you in the spirit of Easter.

 

busy bee.

I don't have a forest of roses to show you but I do have some that have bloomed

(I'm pretty excited about it)

Here's a fun thing to do...

Any yellow flowers work well..

 

 This is the bentwood bed I made..

This is an old iron cot that had been in our back yard hidden away in a corner, covered in spiderwebs.

The head and foot board are made out of old mulberry branches.

I painted it all brass colored and added tin stars.

the jasmine I planted should wind itself all over the bed eventually.

I'll take pictures once that happens.

 

Petunias...

 The pomegranate is blooming too:)

I also have a winner (finally) for my four year anniversary give away.

It's Maggie from the Mag Rag

congrats Maggie!

okay, I have a couple dozen eggs to boil right now

so I better get going.

I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!

(Don't eat too much chocolate!I did that once and I'll never forget it!!!)

Rain, moss, stars and blossoms

It's a windy overcast day..
 At 63 degrees, it's not cold but the intermittent rain that falls
 makes the temperature seem colder. 
I sit here, in my little wagon with the door wide open, 
to better feel the breeze, 
to breathe in the incredible energy that this magic day brings. 
I love to sit in here and let my mind wander.
The colorful sheets and curtains I have hanging right outside
fly around and
 snap sharply..

Music from the many wind chimes 

masks the whistling the winds makes as it dances 
over the trees.

 (As a child I was terrified of that whistling/ howling sound. In my mind it was a 
giant invisible monster that would whirl you up and gobble you down.)

It was warm last week... Hot even, high 80s.
Since my dad has gone, I've found myself outdoors more often.
Raking, watering, talking to the plants and trees, 

letting the smell of wet soil 
and warm sun push the sadness away. 

 I've been creating some garden art lately... 

 Metal mushrooms,

made from an old bowl and a dollar store waste basket... 

 Spoon and fork wind chimes

from yard sale utensils .. 

and a tin fairy house covered in moss

(also a yard sale find) 

 are the products of my 
imagination right now...

 
Oh! As I write this, I hear the drops tapping away at the roof.. 

sounds so 
incredible!

:) 

 For years the garden was dormant 
I thought a lot of the trees would have to come down, dry as they were,

 no amount of watering seemed to help.
They all seemed to be in a weird period of waiting... Wondering .
Now everywhere I look new life is springing up.. 

 An orange tree covered in blossoms and bright green leaves 
Pomegranate. 

mulberry,

 grapefruit

 and lime trees

 all pushing forth 

beautiful delicate growth. 

And look at this tree...it's just gorgeous!!

Last week as I pulled weeds and dodged bees I realized

that I'm grateful

for

everything

I have

and for the promise of what's to come. 

(I think the universe heard

my word of the year...)

Blossom!

Now as the day begins to melt away

the chill really starts to build..

how was is so hot last week!?

This weather is so bizarre.

It's getting cold in this gypsy wagon...time to go inside I think..

 gonna make a cup of cinnamon tea

to warm up.

Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read my ramblings.

drop by soon

I'm going to have a 4 year blog anniversary giveaway!!!

 

The Fairy Chair

When I first saw this gorgeous image on my collage CD from Lisa Kettell, I knew I had to use it.
The image itself is called 'Take the fair face of woman'
I think she looks like a fairy:)


Supplies:
Collage CD from Lisa's shop
moss
artificial flowers
butterflies
glitter
small chair
hot glue
glue gun



Directions:
Hot glue moss to the chair seat
glue image to chair back
take the flowers apart and arrange them around image and on the moss. Add butterflies.
paint glitter onto flowers.

Now it's all ready for a fairy to rest on!




Tips:
you can find small decorative chairs at craft stores or yard sales.
use tulle or ribbon to make a skirt around the chair.
a small pillow can be used instead of moss.

Have a great Sunday!

Paper Dolls

When I was 8 I had a friend that had a huge collection of paper dolls, fortunately she was generous and didn't mind sharing. We'd play for hours, changing accessories and outfits.One of the best things was being able to keep all the outfits that were damaged...I'd bring them home and "repair" them, adding glitter, construction paper, photos from magazines and fake flowers.
This week's project for Lisa Kettel Designs helped me remember how much fun that was.
I used an image from a collage clip art CD which you can find in Lisa's shop.

Marie Antoinette
Vintage Image
ribbon
pink ruffled ribbon
cage and bird stickers
red glitter heart sticker
resin rose stickers
glitter in dark pink, iridescent pink
paper flowers
small artificial rose
white pompom trim
rhinestones
decorative scrapbook paper
card stock
white craft glue
hot glue
glue stick

print image onto card stock
glue decorative paper onto card stock using a glue stick, press out air bubbles,
cut into skirt shape
attach image to top of skirt
hot glue ruffles to lower half of skirt, starting at the bottom.
add pompom trim using white glue
add paper flowers to dress
brush white glue to flowers and sprinkle with iridescent glitter
arrange rhinestones onto doll
attach artificial rose to skirt using hot glue
place cage on her head and bird sticker to her hand
add glitter heart sticker to hip
hot glue ribbon to back of doll to hang if you wish










Flower Fairy
Vintage image
glitter paper
fabric roses
silver glitter tinsel
artificial leaf
crepe paper flower
pink pipe cleaner
ribbon
coarse glitter in pink and gold
plastic wings
card stock



print image onto card stock, cut out
draw arms onto remaining card stock, cut out and glue to torso
glue leaf to bodice
add fabric roses to top of arms to form sleeves
glue tinsel ribbon to 'waist'
hot glue torso and head to tissue paper flower
drizzle white glue to flower and cover with pink glitter
form legs out of pink pipe cleaner and glue to inside of skirt
add more fabric flowers for shoes
cut out crown shape out of gold glitter paper attach to top of head
glue wings to back of doll.
add ribbon to back of doll to hang




Tip:
use butterfly wings or stickers instead of plastic wings
tissue paper flowers can be found in the greeting card/birthday section of Target
use crepe paper instead of fabric ribbon

Visit Lisa Kettell Designs, her artfire shop or her beautiful blog for more inspiration !!

Little surprises

Hi everyone!
what do you get when you combine glittery stars and polka dots?? Well, I'm not sure either, but I'm know it's going to be something fun, especially when the stars were only fifty cents.

I love finding magical little treasures on a regular day. Look at these adorable cupcake ornaments that were 75% off.

And this kitty...he's perfect, no knocking iphones off the sofa and shattering the screen...no jumping up and landing in the toilet...no smacking you as you walk by..

And who else has seen the glittery bunches of daisies at Walmart? So cute!

It was a day filled with little surprises, the perfect kind of day to have I think.
And speaking of surprises....I have one for you, My two year blogiversary is on the 30th and I'm working on a glittery give away just for you!
Now to finish off the day I'm off to have a freshly baked brownie:)
see you soon!

First week-end of November

Hello..we've been having delicious weather lately! the high today was 59 degrees!
To some of you with snow falling that might seem like t-shirt weather but to us here in the desert, it's a sign that winter is on it's way!
In honor of the Dia de los muertos parade tonight, I decided to post some pictures of a few things I've made.... a Frida canvas.

This chandelier was actually two separate sconces that I stuck together with liquid nails then I painted it with a green patina and added the skulls, flowers and crystals.

This mini shrine is on my work table in the gypsy wagon
It gives me great comfort to have a reminder of my mother in there.

It even has a miniature wood burning stove I found at a thrift store!
My mom had two full size wood burning stoves & making tortillas or an amazing dinner was something she enjoyed doing for us.So finding this bitty treasure was especially fortunate.

Last but not least, here's a picture of Helena in her sugar skull make-up, she's all ready for the parade!

I'll post some pictures of the festivities later this week.
Have a great Sunday.