Welcome Spring!

I haven’t been here in a while but this time I didn't disappear into my studio, I vanished into my day job – bookkeeping – preparing for an annual audit and going through the field work. Schedules for this and that, ledger reports and more reports. My focus turns from the creative to putting numbers in little boxes and when all is said and done and it all balances, I breath a sigh of relief and my attention can again turn to creating.  On March 27 this blog turned two and I’m still visiting blogs from OWOH. So let’s celebrate the blog birthday in hobbit style – eat two breakfasts and here’s a gift of old postcards for you, if you’d like.

 

 

 

 

 

Now off to the studio…

I’m the Lucky Winner of…

These magnets from Susan of Pieces Of Fate for her OWOH giveaway. These are beautifully made, quality magnets…

signed on the back, and a close up view…

… of  seashells. I may live in desert but I was born by the sea. I learned to swim in the ocean so young I don’t remember learning – just swimming and loving the water. My family would often go to a restaurant called “Anthony’s Fish Grotto” that had a fishy gift shop and  I would come home with an abalone shell  filled with seashells, wrapped in cellophane with a piece of day-glo coral on top or a spiny, purple dried sea urchin that smelled like the ocean. I love these reminders of the ocean, thank you Susan!

And the winner is…

Ok – the first winner is me! THANK YOU all for the lovely, kind comments! What fun!

I have consulted the magic random number generator at Random.org and the winner is: # 33.

Congratulations to Shama-Lama Mama!

Because I’m such a pokey blogger I’ll still be visiting OWOH blogs for some time. And again thank you all so much for making this such a positive experience.

 Applause for Lisa of a A Whimsical Bohemian!

Welcome to One World One Heart!

It’s time to visit blogs from the far corners of the globe! If you would like to join the fun, click HERE.

To introduce myself I’ll start with a fairy tale because everybody needs a story.

 

And yes, I am an artist though I also have a day job, and yes, I do live under trees.  I love to make vintage style jewelry and stitch needlework – I have a thing for pincushions. I also do shabby scrapping and collage. 

The trees and the tiny house are in the Verde Valley of northern Arizona -

Let’s step out the gate and visit -

 

The Verde Valley

 

The historic mining town of Jerome on the slope of  Cleopatra Hill

 

The open pit above Jerome where they had to take off the side of the mountain because of the mine fires that burned for years

 

The surrounding countryside

 

The ever-changing sky

 

Across the valley, up to Sedona and Coffee Pot rock

 

Land of the red rocks

 

Over Midgley bridge

 

Up the narrow, winding road through Oak Creek canyon

 

Down the path to…

 

Oak Creek, then up the canyon to…

 

Flagstaff and the San Francisco peaks.

 

Thank you for visiting my part of the world and before you leave, please enter the drawing for a door prize -

A special, handmade something – Magic Gypsy’s Altar-in-a-Box. A tiny devotional to take with you to help keep those thoughts positive.

 

The inside, with the golden lotus and the pearl of wisdom

 

With devotional figure in place

 

The devotional figure – Quan Yin, goddess of compassion and mercy

 

Top of the lid

 

Inside the lid

 

The bottom of the box

 

Barbie’s helping to give an idea of the size.

If you would like to enter the drawing, please leave a comment and a way to reach you. I will draw the winner on February 17th, at 9:00pm Arizona time, and will announce it in a new post. Then I will email you or leave a comment on your blog. 

 

Titania and…

 

Brownie say good-bye for now.

Enjoy the adventure!

A Sparkle Fairy Named Mavis

I disappear from my blog for a while – so what do I do while I’m gone? Well, I make stuff! Or I finish stuff. Like the fairy in a jar that was started long ago…

 

Her name is Mavis and she’s a Sparkle Fairy – the type of fairy that puts the twinkle in glitter, the flash in rhinestones and the glimmer in sunlight on water.  She moved in to the jar right away, no doubt because of all that glitter, and waited patiently for me to finish the lid. She didn’t stamp her wee foot, not even once, but she did mention the other fairies were beginning to talk. So I finished the lid, the center is paper – to keep the room dust out, the fairy dust in – and doesn’t stop the comings and goings of a fairy. The ring has glitter ribbon and vintage rhinestone trim, a ribbon rose and velvet leaves adorn the top.

 

She keeps me company in the studio…

 

 

Some other studio happenings…

This necklace and the amethyst necklace above were published in Somerset's magazine “Jewelry Affaire”

 

Thrill! Thrill! Thrill! Beautiful photos and a lovely article!

And off I go to make more stuff!

One World One Heart…

 

It’s time for the One World One Heart 2011 event!

This is a really, really big international blog event and it will be the last year. It’s hosted by A Whimsical Bohemian and  I had a wonderful time at the past event and will be ready to go this year. Each participant offers a giveaway and last year mine went to a blogger from the Netherlands. Click on the link above or the sidebar button to find out more!

 

Brownie and I say Happy New Year!

 

 

Woof, woof!

Happy Holidays!

 

Here’s some Christmas cheer from my house to you…

Enjoy the tree…

 

Have a seat at the table…

 

With a vintage plastic crèche…

 

A napkin holder dressed for the season…

 

And goodie bags to hand out…

 

Blessings of the season!