Saturday, December 24, 2011

A Bevy of Holiday Beverages

Each holiday season I like to treat myself with fancy beverages, that I don't usually have, in the evening before bed.  This year I decided to take some pictures...

This morning I added Marshmallow Madness to my coffee; I love these things...

A few nights ago I had a handful of peppermint marshmallows in my cocoa...

And a few days before that I had a delicious chocolate-dipped peppermint peep in cocoa...

What are some of your favorite holiday beverages?

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

We have a winner for the Faerie Garden Fancies' Holiday Giveaway!

I had random.org choose for me, and counting from the bottom up I got...


Many congratulations to Ayden!

As soon as she receives her surprise holiday package, I'll post it here for all to see!  Thanks to everyone who entered!

Monday, December 12, 2011

December Give-Away at Vanillery Gardens


I wanted to take a moment to share an awesome give-away going on over at Vanillery Garden right now.  If you like cute stickers, then you won't want to miss this one!  And while you're there, do stick around and check things out, because Natalie has the cutest little blog, full of sweet art & sound advice!

Monday, December 05, 2011

Holiday HOPpenings!


Now through December 14th you can get FREE SHIPPING on anything in my shop! Just use the coupon code HOHOHO11 when checking out...

..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ ALSO A HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY! -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

At the end of the FREE SHIPPING sale, I'll be giving away a special holiday surprise!

Here is how to enter:
  1. Hop over to my Facebook Event
  2. Click *Join* in the upper right corner.
  3. Comment with your favorite item from Faerie Garden Fancies
On December 15th, I will announce the winner!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Holiday Sale This Weekend!

If you're looking for inexpensive handmade gifts, without battling the Black Friday crowds, check out Faerie Garden Fancies!


There are lots of items for less than $5 + S&H and this weekend only get an additional 15% off with the coupon code TDAY11!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Etsy Blogger of the Month: MagdaleneJewels

Say hello to November's Blogger of the Month...


Magdalene Jewels has two lovely shops, one featuring her beautiful hand made jewelry and the other where she makes "All hand crocheted or knitted baby articles (sweaters, booties, hats), scarfs & neckwarmers."

Here are some of my favorites...


Crocheted Victorian Shawl Alpaca Wool in Natural Fawn



Romantic Valentine Heart Necklace of Swarovski Crystals

Don't forget to check out her shop and blog, and see what's there that might be calling to you...

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

EtsyBloggers BlogCarnival: November

Our EtsyBloggers Team Blog Carnival Host this time is: ME!


I chose two topics for my fellow team members that are close to my heart, and as such, I am going to answer BOTH!

1. November is National Novel Writing Month. As a blogger, have you ever though of crossing over and writing a book? Have you ever tried NaNoWriMo? Win or lose, tell us about your experience!

I discovered NaNoWriMo in 2007, and in both 2007 & 2008 I tried writing, but life was just too busy and I didn't complete either novel; in 2007, I wrote 4,274 words, and in 2008 I wrote only 1,692 words.  The following years were so busy I didn't even try, and this year is no different.  However, the rest of my family are all super gung-ho about it every year!  Even though we miss the first few days of November due to an annual trip, they all buckle down and writewritewrite!  Last year, our daughter Esme finished a really great story and one of the NaNo sponsors published it for her!  We all got to read her story in book-format; it was so exciting!  This year, they're all hoping to win and get a published copy...


2. November is also National Diabetes Month. Do you have diabetes or has your life ever been touched by it? Please share any stories you have...

About a decade ago, I was told I was pre-diabetic, and aside from telling me to lose weight - something I had been told at every doctor visit since my early teens - nothing else happened.  My doctor didn't make a big deal about it, and although my step-father had been a diabetic since age 17 and I knew the problems that could arise from diabetes, I didn't do anything about it.  I felt I didn't need to worry about it until I was older.

In 2007, after a few years of not seeing a doctor due to a lack of insurance, I went back to the doctor to find a solution to the problem I was having with irregular periods and infertility.  This time, I was told I was diabetic, Type II.  Well, now I had an explanation for my lethargy, as well as my infertility, and thankfully, it was easily controlled with metformin.  Then I was without insurance again, and my father was also diagnosed with Type II diabetes.  Things did not go so smoothly for him.  His blood glucose numbers were sky high, and he suffered many complications, including a forced early retirement because he could no longer work.


Then my step-father had an accident.  He blacked out from low blood glucose, fell & hit his head, then died after 3 days without ever waking up again.  He was 57 years old.  I decided that if I didn't want the same kinds of problems as my dad & step-dad - and if I couldn't get insurance so I could take the drugs - then I needed to take precautions to get my numbers down the hard way: diet & exercise.  So after a ton of research and a lot of playing with my diet while carefully tracking my blood glucose reactions, I cut my carbs way back, lost 50 pounds, and now have A1C levels back in the pre-diabetic range.  I can eat more carbs now, and still keep my blood glucose levels ok, but I am still trying to lose more weight.

I wish so much that when I was first diagnosed, that my doctor had warned me more forcefully about the problems that having diabetes can cause.  I wish that I had realized it on my own sooner, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20.  However, another saying tells us to learn from others' mistakes.  So if YOU are in the pre-diabetic range, or if you know someone who is, DO something; SAY something.  Don't just figure it'll be ok, you can work on it later... Talk to your doctor about cutting back your carbs, changing your diet somehow, exercising more, so you can lose weight and get your A1C levels down.

Here are some websites that offer information and community:
Head over to the EtsyBloggers team blog for all the other EtsyBloggers' links!

Thursday, September 01, 2011

FAE Exhibition: Siren Song

Aquariann has done it again!  She's gathered together some of the best of the FAE Team work, and created a lovely exhibition.  This month's theme is Siren Song  ^-^



Click the banner above to see the full exhibition, but here's a little sample:
Etsy
Buy Handmade
FAEetsy

Monday, August 22, 2011

1000 Sheets of Paper

This is what it looks like:


Isn't that a lovely little pile?  I think so, and I want a bunch of it.  You could win some yourself, and some stamps - omg there are suck cute stamps! - just by heading over to this post on Amy's blog, A Thousand Sheets of Paper, and entering to win!  Good luck!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Mosaic Monday Bunday

It's time for another round of Mosaic Monday Bunday!  This week I've taken a suggestion from one of my Facebook fans who will receive a handpainted postcard that goes along with his suggested theme...

MAGIC BANANAS!
Click any pic to see its Etsy listing!


For other Mosaic Monday posts, click here!

Saturday, August 06, 2011

Not Perfect

A song by singer/comedian Tim Minchin...

This is my body, and I live in it
It’s 31 and 6 months old it
It's changed a lot since it was new
It’s done stuff it wasn’t built to do
I often try to fill it up with wine
And the weirdest thing about it is
I spent a long time hating it
but it never says a bad word about me
this is my body and it's fine
It's where I spend the vast majority of my time
It's not perfect, but it's mine.



365/02 take me as i am
by skyemama


Many thanks to Ragen Chastain for posting this...

Monday, June 27, 2011

Etsy Teams Newsletter

I am so freaking excited!  The Etsy Teams newsletter for Gay Pride month just went live, and they chose one of *my* photos to showcase!  *SQUEEEE!!!!*


Click here to read the newsletter!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Giveaway!

The Queer Etsy Street Team is doing an awesome giveaway in honor of LGBT Pride Month and because we got 700 followers on Facebook, and it's packed with a lot of great things! My original watercolor postcard, Let Your Love Shine, is just one of them! Do head over to the Queer Etsy Street Team's blog, check out the list of prizes, and leave a comment to enter to win! It's THAT simple! What are you waiting for? CLICK HERE!


Let Your Love Shine

And after you've entered the contest, you can check out some great merchandise by the QuEST folks, at all the great treasuries we've created and listed here! Just click here!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

How to Make a Mask

Today I'd like to share with you how I made this fabulous mask for the Shine Masquerade Ball last Thursday. Oh, I know there are TONS of tutorials online that tell you how to make masks, but what do you do if you've got to wear glasses like I do? Well if you've checked out as many websites as I did, you may have come to the conclusion that you can paint your face or carry a mask on a stick. Neither are satisfying answers to me. So I got to thinking about it, and here's what I came up with!


Isn't it fabulous? I'd love to make more elaborate ones, and believe me, I have lots of ideas in my head... ~_^ But let me tell you how I made this one!

FIRST, find some cardstock, your favorite color or white. You'll be decorating it later. Put your glasses on the paper, front of the lenses down, and trace all the way around them, making sure to get the the nose piece and the little bumps where the arms stick out. Then put your glasses back on so you can see what you're doing again! XD


NOW you can roughly sketch out your mask; I sketched out where my eye holes should go first, then made sure the eye holes and tabs where the mask would be attached to my glasses were well reinforced. I just took one piece of packing tape and pressed it across the whole area right over my sketched marks. I had trimmed the edges where the tab would be and made sure to fold it over so the tabs would have extra reinforcement. (You can see it in the pics.)

NEXT I folded my paper in half making sure to line everything up so when I cut my mask, it would be symmetrical. You might prefer to have a more free-form mask; if so, skip the folding. Then I used a marker on the tape to draw how I wanted my eye holes to look and cut on that line with a craft knife. Then I used scissors and just cut random curls and waves around the edges. You might prefer to draw it out first, but I was impatient. ^-^ Be sure to make holes on the tabs for your mask to slip onto your frames! I used a 1/4" hole punch, but something a bit more rectangular probably would have worked better.

FINALLY you can decorate your mask however you want. I sketched out some feathery swirly shapes and things and used watercolor pencils and LOTS of glitter glue on mine. When we got to Shine there were some gems and feathers available, so I added some of those too. Whatever you do, make sure to leave the lower half not too much wider than your frames so they can be put on without mishap. (I learned the hard way and lost some feathers the first time I tried to put it on.)


NOW comes the tricky part: slipping it on your frames. Take your glasses off, and hold the mask upside down to your glasses, the insides facing each other, and slip the tabs over each of the ear pieces. Slide the mask down to meet then lenses and then you need to do a little finagling to flip the mask right side over on the front of your glasses. I hesitate to give more details here, because everyone's glasses are slightly different and it might not work the same. However, since it's made of paper, and has been well reinforced, it's capable of being curled and bent a bit to get it in place. Just be careful of your decorations!


Additional tips:
  • Mod-podge works awesome to keep everything glued on and still flexible.
  • If your mask seems to flop out from your face a bit too much, try gluing a popsicle stick or coffee stirrer across the inside of the brow to help keep it flat.
  • Have fun and send me pics!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

EtsyBloggers BlogCarnival: Favorite Summer Recipes

Our EtsyBloggers Team Blog Carnival this time is: What is your favorite summer recipe? Please share with us!

I've answered this one before; I *love* sharing my favorite summer recipes!  My absolute favorite special summer meal is Pepper Steak, Salt Potatoes, and Corn on the Cob, and I love the summertime sweets, Pfijit and Clementine Cake... 

As many families do, we cook out a lot in the summer, and usually it's hot dogs or whatever meat was on sale, and we eat a lot of tossed salads, especially when it's hot.  Marshmallows are a staple, usually roasted, and just last week, Jacqueline introduced us all to dough boys.  It is SO easy and SO tasty!  I wish I had taken some pics of it, but truthfully, I was too busy stuffing my face; so many thanks to Krista at The Nourishing Apron for this great shot!


We used crescent rolls, but many people use biscuit dough, and yes, those refrigerator tubes work just fine if you don't want to make your own dough.  There are SO many variations, but basically you wrap the dough around your stick, making sure to pinch the ends so it stays stuck on, then rotate it over hot coals until it's browned nicely on the outside.

Be careful over flames, because it can burn quick and still be raw inside.  Of course, be careful with your *self* around the fire, and let it cool some before you eat it!

And do try some of the variations!  You can dip the dough in cinnamon & sugar before wrapping it around the stick (chocolate croissant anyone?); if you can pull it off the stick in one piece, you can fill the hollow with a string cheese stick, let it melt a bit, and dip in marinara sauce; you can fill the hollow with chocolate chips (or another favorite meltable) or pie filling; or you can do what I did, roast your hot dog over the fire til it's almost done, then wrap your dough around it and cook it til the dough it done!  I meant to tuck some cheese in, but got impatient and ate the cheese while roasting my dog. Hehehe...

What's your favorite summer recipe?  Let me know then head over to the EtsyBloggers team blog for all the other EtsyBloggers' faves!

Etsy Blogger of the Month: tamdoll

Say hello to June's Blogger of the Month...


Tammy Gross of Tamdoll's Silver Mountain Originals creates wonderful pieces of wearable art, unique one of a kind accessories, and even offers patterns for you to make your own inspired creations! Here are some of my favorites...

This one's been in my favorites for a LONG time...

Lilac Oak Leaf Tiny Brooch of Wool Felt

I'd love to make this...

Serenity Mermaid Pattern for Cloth Dolls

This would be a great bag to have!

Huge Hobo Bag - Great Textured Fabric Shoulder Bag

Don't forget to check out her shop and blog, and see what's there that might be calling to you...

FAE Exhibition: Return to Renaissance

Aquariann has done it again! She's gathered together some of the best of the FAE Team work, and created a lovely exhibition. This month's theme is Return to Renaissance ^-^


Click the banner above to see the full exhibition, but here's a little sample:
Etsy
Buy Handmade
FAEetsy

Thursday, June 02, 2011

TiLT: Blessings & Blissings

Short list cuz I'm sleepy... but oh so grateful for the good things in my life...


Blessings: JACQUELINE!  Lia, Antonio, JoAnn, Esme, my camera, this computer, the internet, Ibuprofen & Naproxen, falling gas prices, Etsy sales! Hannah the Montana, food in my belly, comfy bed to sleep in, people who care about me.


Oh do go see it here!

Blissings:Showers of maple tree seed pods, red cows in a field of yellow flowers, blue skies with puffy white clouds racing by, cool breezes that make the wind chimes sing, lazy hazy summer days spent under shady trees or at the lake shore, dragonflies zipping about the yard like mini-helicopters, open-face s'mores, grilled portobello mushrooms topped with roasted onions & peppers, baked beans, SPARKLY NAILS!  Magic shell!  Birds who pose for me.  Navi-systems, Sirius radio, NPR.



Things I Love Thursday is brought to you by Gala Darling...

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Wishcasting Wednesday

What is your money wish?


Money.
by $ebastien Million


I am wishing desperately for there to be more of it.  Short for rent, still owe on electricity, not to mention the others...  only 15 more days of the school year to sub, and we still need money for Shine (gas & deposit), and I wish we had enough to buy the kids the things they want/need (swimsuits for Es & Jo, more of the food they want to eat, more art supplies, more make-up/nail polish/cleansers/conditioners/etc for teen-aged girls...), money to get them all wherever they want to go...

Most of the time I just trust that the money will come and things will work out just like it should, but sometimes, I start wallowing in the things we don't have money for, that I want us to be able to do, and I get anxious and so sad & worried...  I wish money weren't such a scarcity in our house...  And yet at the same time I realize how much we have compared to so many other people, that this wish along brings such guilt!  I am not complaining!  But I still do wish for more...

You can be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes. It’s easy. Answer the wish prompt on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box [at the link] below. Support wishes by visiting other participants, leaving a comment saying “As (insert name) wishes for her/himself, so I wish for her/him also.” It’s that simple. There is great power in wishing together.
~ Jamie Ridler

Monday, May 30, 2011

In Memory



Many thanks to the soldiers who died in service to our country.



May their families be forever blessed.



Click for Images Best View