Friday's finds

What with packing and getting ready to have my house torn apart, I didn't think I'd have time to play with Colleen today, but....

well......

I just had to!

This sweet little figurine sits on a shelf in Dahlia's room with many (ahem.....not all) of her Cinderella collection.

Here's that shelf.



And here's where we found her. Now, you can't tell, but the little pumpkin she is sitting on is of course - orange....because pumpkins ARE orange, right? Wrong....in my house they're silver (and with sparkles too).

We don't do orange here so I painted it.

And speaking of paint........I have an anniversary coming up. March 1st marks one year since I opened my blog and I'll be doing a give-away and all I'll say is it has something to do with paint.

You'll have to check back for more clues.

:)

Friday's finds

It's Friday again. Snowing enough for ya? (Sorry, that was a bit cruel - we didn't get a flake
up here on the North Pole.)

It's also time for Colleen's Friday's finds. Check out her site for more interesting things.

I am on the mailing list of this organization. I often find timely and really sage advice and wanted to share an e-mail and link that may come in handy considering all the snow that got dumped all along the Eastern Seaboard. There is a link (below) with some really cool stuff to do with the kiddos during "snow days". Oh joy!

Raising Small Souls : Parenting Emotionally Healthy Children

I hope this email finds you well and staying warm! We are buried under more than 2 feet of snow here in Baltimore, and more snow is falling! Our streets (we live on a corner) have not been plowed, so we parked our car a block away... what an adventure! I'm very grateful that we have electricity, and my heart goes out to all those who do not.

It looks like school will be closed for this entire week! In order to get my kids to take a break from endless video games, I pulled up this Craft book which I recently bought, and have permission to share with you at no charge!

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/crafthappyebook.pdf

We did some painted shells, instead of painted rocks, (page 9) with our massive shell collection!

Looking forward to Spring!

Ellen


P.S. Have you had a chance to check out my article about helping kids study effectively and get amazing grades in school?

All children learn and process information differently, yet schools test the same way.

More info here- http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/help-kids-study/

And because I hate to disappoint (all you fairy lovin' people out there)

here is a sweet little book of photographs of fairy dwellings.

.....that we can make for our little fairy friends.

It's loaded with sweet little ideas and is perfect to get the kids involved.

And that's all I've got this week!

Ask me why.

Well.......we are starting our kitchen/family room reno!!!

Oh, yes we are!

We are about to rip out walls, add some stairs, move a powder room, tear up a massive amount of carpeting, put down heated tiles (24 sq. in porcelain beauties in....black with a white vein.....surprised?) so I'm busy picking granite countertops, faucets, moldings, hardware, cabinets, sinks, lights and I am just soooooooo excited.

I think Danny may have lost his mind but I'm going to forge ahead and hope he doesn't find it till we're finished!!

:)

Happy Friday, my friends!

Friday's finds

It's Friday!

(somebody please tell me where the week....heck....the year has gone? Is it really February already?)

And

that means it's time to share some finds - hosted by Colleen here from The Crazy Eight site.

And

because I am so pretend to be so sophisticated, I thought I would share a very posh little gadget with you.

My new BFF.

Here it is!

Ready?

Ta da!

Well, yes....this little baby and I have become very well acquainted this last week. In fact, one could say that this little apparatus has been where no man has gone before.

Who knew that little orifice (or is it orafie? No, orifices) could hold that much water.

Amazing!

But, besides this little titilation, this baby really works. I hang onto my colds like a mama bear hangs onto her cubs. Colds and I are "one" in every sense of the word.

But, after just a few dates days, my cold is almost gone. No post nasal drip, slowly infecting my throat till I cry out for mercy, no coughing up an entire village....well....that really does scare the children.

So, if you ever find yourself thinking - "hmmm....I could use a little more air in my nasal passages.....heck....my lungs, right about now" - try this.

It actually is almost a pleasant experience.

(awh man.....I have to get out more.)

You can probably find this at your pharmacy, but if not - call Toll-free in USA and Canada - 1-877-477-8633

And now something for the wee ones.

This little doll is so soft and cuddly with a medium hard face. I found it at prilly@prillycharmin.com
I bought this one over 3 years ago and waited a long time to give it to Milana.

And just in case anyone was wondering if I could resist posting something about fairies this week - well, no, I couldn't (I guess I'm just weak like that).

This beautiful figurine is part of a collection (somebody stop me) called "Garden Enchantment Series" featuring the art of Lena Liu. They (yes, I have more than, ahem, one) really are quite exquisite. They are from The Bradford Exchange and you can find them at
http://www.collectiblestoday.com/

Adieu, gentle readers, till we meet again.

Friday's finds

Much to my surprise and delight, I discovered that I'm not alone in my love of fairies. So even though I will be posting other "finds" on future Fridays, hosted by Colleen at The Crazy Eight site, I thought they deserved at least one more week in the limelight.

(Ahem, I have enough stuff to do another 12 weeks or more but I won't. Maybe I'll drop a little fairy dust in once in awhile - just to keep the magic alive.)

So today, all you fairy lovers,

I give you

the author and artist of the "Flower Fairy".

Cicely Mary Barker

Here....pull up a wee chair and have a spot of tea. This little flower fairy tea set is no more than an inch high, so, mind you don't spill.

Comfy?....'k, so here are a few of my favorite fairy flower books.

Are you as crazy about little boxed collections of books as I am?

I can get lost in almost every page or painting.

Of course, for the background details of all things "flower fairy" and
the life of Cicely Mary Barker,

below is the ultimate reference book on every fairy and flower she invented discovered.

So, thanks for joining me today.

I always enjoy your sweet comments - they never fail to put a smile on my face.

...and a fairy happy friday to everyone!

Friday's finds

Do you believe in fairies?

Psst.......come a little closer....

...I do!

I think I've always believed in them. But it wasn't until we had children that I gave it more serious thought. Of course with Dahlia - it was all princesses. My fault there. I fell in love with Cinderella again and bought the DVD and played it for her when she was two. I know....my bad. And she.....we were hooked! (Really, in hindsight I should have waited. It opened up a whole Pandora's box that I'll never be able to close but, oh well....there are worse things, right? Really though, I have some mixed feelings about the whole 'knight in shining armour saving the damsel in distress' thing but....that's another post.)

So, when we were preparing for Milana I wanted to change it up for her and went with my next fantasy..... fairies. (Or as all true fairy lovers know - the word is faery. Yup, really. Look it up.)

And since the wait for Milana went on for years (!!*@+??) I now have quite a collection of fairy things. (Sure hopes she likes fairies.) From books to figurines, boxes and collectibles, art-work and future art-work to inspire me to paint - I could now live quite comfortably in an

all fairy world.

Not really, but sometimes I go there in my mind and have lots of company too. Ahem....I am quite sane, I just have a vivid imagination.

:)

All that to say - here is one of my many fairy books.

Really, from the moment I cracked the cover, I was lost in it. This book is actually a fashion design collection book for fairy clothing. But it's so much more. Beside the fashions being made from dried flower petals and leaves, branches, feathers and other nature objects, it takes you for a lovely walk through the yearly agenda of a fairy. Mind you....a cultured fairy.

(click on any image to enlarge)

The art work is beautiful, the text soothing and inspiring.

.....and the fashions......A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E!

Oh gee......what have I done? Do I hear the sound of horses hooves again?

Awhhh.....I'm hopeless.

Now you may be thinking - what is this post all about anyway? Well, I'll tell you. Colleen over at The Crazy Eight site had this idea for Fridays. To show things that we love, things we have found, great bargain and such. So I thought I'd start with this. And who knows where this may go.

And while you might be gliding through a fairy book or the like, I can't think of anything prettier to listen to than the sweet sounds of this lady's voice. I'm crazy about her.
Happy Friday everyone!

Ohh...and if you happen to see some fairies......

.....tell them I said

'hi'.