Faerieluna: June 2007

STAYING WITHIN THE PINKNESS

Some time ago, I created this little collage (ATC) size and just loved it. Originally I think I was going to enter it in some type of contest or trade; but I could not part with it. The two Paper Whimsy images are just darling together. Now let me make it clear that the whole good sister-naughty sister is in NO WAY reflective of my relationship with either of my sisters. Quite the opposite. But when I put these two images together and found a mixed media background that I did prior, it just needed something extra.......and then I spied the "sister" text on my work table........and VIOLA!! I apoligize for the blurry scan. I can't quite seem to clear that up.

I may be back with more pinkness.

PINK, PINK, PINK, PINK, PINK, PINK, PINK, PINK, MOON

Tomorrow we celebrate the June full moon. The Strawberry or Pink Moon. I’m tickled (pink, of course) that it’s synchronistic with my renewed love affair with the color. I was tempted to link up one of my favorite Nick Drake songs, even the version with the VW (another love of mine) Cabrio commercial that was so popular many moons ago. But I nixed that idea considering the sweet sounding song, made widely popular by that commercial, was not about something sweet at all, but rather about nuclear fallout. Ouch. Dear, sad soul who was not really recognized during his short (27 years) life, I wonder how he would take the fact that his music became so easily recognizable due to commercialism. Perhaps he would laugh all the way to the bank.

So let’s think of the beauty of another full moon upon us. A summer’s moon for sure here in Arizona when it’s still 104 as the night comes upon us. I know that sounds so hot, but it really isn’t once the sun goes down. TrULy!!! It can feel very, very pleasant sitting out under the full moon, glass of wine or pink martini, good conversation. Gorgeous, even.

Ahhh, the beauty of a full moon on a Saturday night.

I thought it would be fun to alter my collage piece "First Snow ~ Full Moon (that is part of my banner) into total "pinkness"
to celebrate Pink Moon. It feels fun. What do you think?
I may have to alter her to Blue for Monday!

IN THE STILLNESS OF THIS LATE HOUR, PETRA IS MY VIGILANT NIGHTGIRL

There is one hour left of this Sunday night and instead of heading towards Dreamworld, I am savoring every minute, no..........every second because once I fall asleep, my blissed-out weekend will truly be over. My night girl from here understands this as she has been through many of these Sunday nights with me. Knowing how I love my nest she accompanies me, quietly, ready to listen with her heart almost as big as her eyes. The music has stopped and we sit here, together. The only sounds are the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard and the hum of the fan.

We are nightgirls. But one of us has to get up in several hours and go to that place that allows me to keep THIS place. So I toast (water glass in hand) "Here's to the job that pays the rent" I love that line.

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY TO ME....NEXT BEST THING, THOUGHTS FROM THE NEST, AND....MY NEW BANNER!!

GREAT MAIL

Right next to the joy of coming home to the nest, is the excitement when a package (or two) is waiting at the door or stuffed into the gang mailbox (more on that in a bit)

Here are two splendid examples of great mail.

'Meeting' wonderful souls in Blogland is just the best thing. I can't even put my finger on the number of wonderful people I have come in contact with; and it's just fabulous. Case in point, a wonderful artist and 'Nester', Sharon Tomlinson and I met quite recently. We have enjoyed each other's blogs and artwork and have corresponded a little here and there. So now to the point of great snail mail. This is the first thing I spied on my homecoming:

Is this not the most luscious hand made envie you've seen in a while?...and it's the BACK!!

Inside was the most generous gathering of bits to use in artwork. Notice the feathers that she gathers from her own birdies!!! Well, let me tell you, they have already been used!!!

And I love this.........The Wingkeeper.........THIS faerie that puts wings on everything is so loving that title.

........and how inspiring are these words? I might even add 'to a kind heaart' as that is what this Wingkeeper is...a kind heart.

Thank you, Sharon, I am still blown away.
DO visit Sharon's blog as I promise you it is filled with delicious art, fabulous writing and a wonderful sense of humor.......go and enjoy.

THEN

An ETSY order arrived from JunqueArt
Look at the gorgeous box, cutest of paper ribbons and her MOO card. Sizzle!!

Then upon opening this lovely box, the GOODIES!!! Are these the cutest little bits of art tickets to share?? That's why I got them......to share. Love, love them.

And this is the 'frosting' for me. I need these bits of 'candy' for my Mothies and various pieces of art, so off to ETSY I went to look. I think it's important for us as sisters (and maybe brothers) in the art world to support one another, so I usually look on ETSY first to see if I can find what I need. Cindy is a true Diva of presentation and I applaude her. And do you see the little packet of buttons??? A giftie...!!

The pretty, pretty, MOO.........how I love collecting them.

Do visit Cindy at her website and at her ETSY shop. I highly recommend it.

So here it is, my first year celebration of joining the blog world. It's been quite an experience. I've learned a few things about html, truly only a few. But mostly I've met some wonderful people and the circle of friends grows. I wasn't too sure where I would take my blog as I began a year ago. I WAS sure it was going to be about sharing. Sharing art, thoughts, ideas. Sharing fun. Sharing.

Thank you, all that I have met here, those of you who visit quietly without comment, those of you who have made me laugh or given me pause to reflect on similar lives.

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS A GREAT BLOG YEAR!!

and

lAST, BUT NOT LEAST
MY NEW BANNER

THIS IS A PIECE I DID THIS WINTER WITH ONE OF MY FAVORITE PAPER WHIMSY IMAGES. I CALLED IT FIRST SNOW ~ FULL MOON. (IF YOU HAVE NOT SHOPPED AT PAPER WHIMSY YET, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR. GAYLE'S PRODUCTS ARE DIVINE AND SHE IS THE SWEETEST.) ANYHOW, WHEN IT WAS TIME TO CELEBRATE THE ONE YEAR MARK I THOUGHT IT WAS TIME THAT THE BANNER WAS MY OWN ARTWORK. WITH SUSAN TUTTLE'S EXPERTISE, THIS IS WHAT WE CAME UP WITH. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT....'CUZ I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT.

IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA TO INCLUDE MS. MORGANSTEIN
^..^

THIS IS THE DARLING LITTLE GLASS CUPCAKE DISH I CHOSE TO HOLD YOUR NAMES

SCENE ONE.........TAKE ONE..........ACTION!!!!

AT THE SPEED OF SOUND MS. MORGANSTEIN SNATCHES A NAME

NOW I NEED TO CHASE AND FILM AT THE SAME TIME. AN ASSISTANT WOULD BE GOOD AT THIS POINT

AHHH, THIS COULD BE MY OPPORTUNITY TO SNATCH IT AWAY FROM HER

WRONG! MY MOVING TOWARDS HER IS EVIDENTLY THE 'SIGN' IT'S A GAME

*** *** ***
*** *** ***

FINALLY SHE STOPS AND LOOKS AWAY FROM THE CAMERA AND I MOVE IN

WHEW!! LORI K. OF FAERIEWINDOW....YOU WERE ALMOST MORNING SNACK!!

ALL IN ALL THIS WAS PRETTY FUNNY. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A VIDEO
KITTY ANTICS, MY LAUGHTER, HOLDING THE CAMERA WITH ONE HAND AND TRYING TO SNATCH THE PAPER AWAY FROM HER.

LORI, SEND ME YOUR SNAIL MAIL AND I WILL GET BLOGIVERSARY MOTHIE OFF TO YOU RIGHT AWAY.

FAERIELUNA SHOPPE IS FINALLY OPEN

After jumping through lots of computer hoops (when I'd rather be playing at the art table and making more mothies) my first two Art Doll Mothies are listed. I'm serving Strawberry Peach Iced tea and cupcakes.......o.k. so that doesn't quite translate over the net, but don't be a stranger, just come on in. If you decide you absolutely HAVE to have a Mothie, well be my guest and prepare yourself for a package of gorgeousness to arrive at your house.

S U R P R I S E !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I JUST COULDN'T WAIT
FOR THE BLOGIVERSARY DATE

BESIDES, IT WOULD TAKE AWAY FROM THE EXCITEMENT

OF

THE DRAWING

FOR

HER

AND SHE SHOULD HAVE HER TIME AND PLACE
IN THE.......WELL, MOON

AFTER ALL

SHE IS A FAERIELUNA MOTHIE

WHO ANXIOUSLY AWAITS THE REVELATION

OF THE KINDRED SPIRIT WHO WILL WIN HER (heart)

WHEN THE NAME IS DRAWN ON SUNDAY

BY ...........................HER ^..^

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR????

I WILL PRINT OUT ALL THE NAMES TOMORROW (SATURDAY) EVENING AT 11PM
ARIZONA TIME.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT, (ONCE I WRESTLE YOU-KNOW-WHO FOR THE BIT OF PAPER) WILL BE MADE RIGHT HERE AT 10 A.M. SUNDAY MORNING.

I AM SMITTEN WITH THE COLOR PINK LATELY

Ahhh, the sweet color, pink! I feel I've come full circle, yet again, as I am hopelessly in love with pink again. Boys...ummm, I mean men, would label this a "girlie color" and perhaps it is. I may have reverted back to a time of dollies and dress-up and tea parties. Wait, I wasn't really one of those girls as a child. I played with boys. I was surrounded by boys. Brothers (three of them before I had my first of two sisters at age 10) and a neighborhood FULL of boys. Of my 10 to 12 playmates there was only one girl and she never seemed to be able to come out and play 'cowboys and indians', or climb trees, or make forts. Maybe SHE was inside playing with dolls and having tea parties.

When I wasn't running and climbing with the boys, (many scars to prove that) I was exploring in the woods by the little river or over at the neighbor's dairy farm checking out the new hay in the barn.....or reading. Sure, I played with dolls a little. I loved the ones I had, that is for sure. And I absolutely dressed and fashioned clothes for my Barbie a few times. But the love affair with pink really set in when I had my very own little baby girl to dress in pink rosebuds. I did pink so much with her when she was little that I am pretty sure to this day she will not even LOOK at the color, let alone wear it. And little bird, she was like her Mom and preferred the more fun toys that boys had like Matchbox cars; and climbing was way more enjoyable than dressing dolls.

So here I am back with the affection for pink stronger than ever. And I am not even fighting it. Goodness, I am barely questioning it. Just going with the flow. This little Mothie is as cotton candy pink as they come without going over the top (at least I hope). It may be hard to part with her come when Faerieluna at Etsy opens on Saturday.........we will see.

GOING UP ON ETSY SATURDAY

Well my dear bloggies, if all goes well and everything is tweaked the way it's supposed to be this Saturday, (regardless of Mercury in retrograde) I should be able to open my ETSY shoppe. Featured will be this little 'Mothie' with her tag stating "WE ARE SHAPED AND FASHIONED BY WHAT WE LOVE", one of my most favorite little quotes. the fabric tag can be snipped right off if you prefer to have her hang somewhere special without it. Her face is sculpted polymer clay with a very subtle painting. Her hair and wings are delicate feathers. The headwrap is fashioned from a gauze fabric I dyed to match the vintage binding ribbon that serves as a way to display her, preciously, to keep you company. Perhaps at your art table or by your bed, or even your Christmas tree when it comes out (assuming you put it away :) :) :)...yes, Little Bird, our is finally down!

I still have a lot to do to figure this whole ETSY process out, so wish me luck and cross your fingers. And who knows, I may have several Mothie Sisters to add come Saturday.

MOTHIES YET TO BE

The process begins with a bit of clay. A personality emerges before they go to be baked. The paint and ink help to enhance the spirit I already see; and here they await thier little pod-like mothie bodies, bits of feathers, fibers, beads. I enjoy each and every one!

BLOGIVERSARY MOTHIE

Kindred Spirit
~

Here she is my dear bloggie friends. My newest Mothie. An art doll created from fabric, feathers, fibers and a clay face. A little larger than my first mothies, she is about 5 1/2" tall. She quietly emerges from the nest in which she lay sleeping for many weeks. She will visit with me this next week and then on Sunday next the name of a dear kindred spirit will be revealed and she will leave the nest and head to her new home.

I have 10 Kindred Spirits that jumped right in before even setting eyes on the gift away. Now there is a week left to visit and leave your name for the drawing

Bon Chance!!

THEN AND NOW

Here it is Friday already. The week, the month, where does it go? We are almost at the half way mark of 2007. Does that just make your head spin? It does mine. And here is a tiny example of change in a small amount of time.

Morgan the first night here (May 14) and tonight (June 15) as she is caught doing something I like to call, Vertical Blind Swinging or VBS. To do this said kitty leaps up about three feet in the air and lands, in the vertical position, claws extended in the Grip of Death move, on the fabric, vertical blinds, which causes them to swing back and forth.

Doesn't she look quite proud of herself. I believe the audience agreed that she absolutely perfected the mount, but needed some practice on dismount. For that the judges deducted 2.5 from her total score. This, however, is not the face of despair, but rather DETERMINATION.

LOOK HOW BIG SHE'S GETTING!!!!

A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN

I could not resist. Nope, not me. I didn't even try that hard. When I came upon these wonderful pink peonies I HAD to have them. All of May I thought of the lilacs and lily of the valley back home in Connecticut and how I missed them. I would close my eyes and bring back memories like little videos playing over and over until I could almost smell the intoxicating fragrance that my heart was longing for. So, as I shopped for a few odds and ends at the market, I walked by the flowers as usual and stopped dead in my tracks.....COULD THOSE LUSCIOUS PINK BUNDLES BE PEONIES????

yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

I will say I did not care what they cost. I will also admit I put a few things back from my basket so that I could buy two tiny bundles. I absolutely do not regret this purchase at all. The fragrance is not as strong as my mother's peonies, but it's enough to open up the floodgates and bring me back to a sweet, beautiful Spring in Connecticut.

A WONDERFUL FIND

I must share some loveliness and a wonderful e-bay seller with you. I came across Michelle Bowen's 'The Purple Iris Collection' last week. It began with a sweet cottage type clock.

It reminded me of something from childhood and I thought perhaps I should bid. I could not go crazy with bidding at this point as finances would just not allow so I took a chance with the first bid and crossed my fingers. Lo and behold, it was meant to be mine. Transaction complete I figured the next thing would be I'd find it at my door within a week. Well, the first thing that happened is I got the sweetest note from Michelle thanking me for purchasing and telling me that if for any reason I did not like my clock it was absolutely guaranteed money refunded no questions asked. It was the sweetest note ever. I've certainly not received anything like that in the 9 years or so that I've been active in e-bay.

Then, I come home to a sweet package at my door. Opening it up was a delight in and of itself.

This is my first view of the gorgeousness inside the box!!

It felt too pretty to disturb and I prolonged the process as long as possible

This lovely $2.00 off shipping on a future (is there any doubt?) purchase

A beautiful, personal note to me

And finally, the object of my affection!!
Is this not the most luscious clock for a girl, ever??
I love the sweet little ticking I hear when I walk past it.

So, I am recommending, with the highest of recommendations, Ms. Michele Bowan for the lovliest of cottage-type artifacts, beautiful packaging, lovely lady.

ONE YEAR BLOGIVERSARY - JUNE 24TH

Dear Bloggie friends,

As I mentioned, the one year mark is coming up and it’s time to celebrate!

This means it’s time for a GIFT AWAY. I am putting together a special MOTHIE for this very occasion. Back in February I designed some little MOTHIES for a swap and one for my daughter. I just loved them and began the process of designing a little bit different version.

My new version will have the same overall shape and the same 4" size (approx) but the look will be a bit different. A surprise!! I can promise this will be a very darling MOTHIE and the prototype for ones I will have on my ETSY Shop soon.

Actually, there will be a few surprises on June 23rd.

To enter to win the Anniversary Mothie, leave your comment here, name, and a way to contact you by e-mail if you do not have a blog.

THE DRAWING WILL BE 10 A.M. (AZ TIME) SUNDAY, JUNE 24TH

BON CHANCE!!!!

AS PROMISED ~ BIRDIE DELIGHTS

Enjoy this most amazing 'Eye Candy' from a sincerely, generous heart.

Missing from the photos is a little tin holding two wonderful charms and a tiny rubber stamp of a bird in a birdcage.

Beautiful 6X6 canvas that my sad photo cannot begin to translate