A "Fairy" Special Pay It Forward....

From Me to You!
I am one of the lucky five who will be receiving a special something from Cindy of The Shabby Hag.
Cindy makes the most awesome Halloween Clocks! She sells her work on Etsy and Bonanzle and is very talented. Check out her Blog!
And now it's my turn to Pay It Forward and YOU can receive a special surprise from ME. The first five readers to leave a comment on this post, will receive a FAIRY SPECIAL SOMETHING! It may be a Fairy Wand or a Magic Mushroom or even a HALLOWEEN Goody. But it will be a surprise!! However, should you sign-up, then it will be YOUR TURN to do the same. Re-post this on your blog, with a link to my blog, and send treats to the first five to respond. Your prizes may be ANYTHING that you wish to give.
Okay, Let's get started!!

Incredible!!

Are these not the most incredible images?? They look like a dust jacket cover for a Sci-Fi Book. Very Out Of This World!!

They were taken by the Hubble telescope. Here's the link to the Nasa/Hubble site for more information regarding the Hubble Telescope (who, BTW, is celebrating its 19th Birthday!) and for more of these ethereal images. You won't be disappointed!

Some links - a giveaway and a swap

Been a crazy, busy week. So I am kinda late in getting these two links posted.

First a give-away. A friend, Sarah of Cottage Garden Studio, is having a give-away for TWO of her fantabulous pen & ink drawings! How cool is that!? She will draw the lucky winners' names on April 28th. Hurry! Don't be late!

And then a swap. Zan of Wild at Heart Art is hosting a Swap. The theme is Under the Sea. The deadline to sign-up is May 8th. To quote Zan, " ***The Mission: Create a fantastical creature that lives in the great, mysterious waters. " The creations from this one are going to be awesome!! I can hardly wait to see them!

April Offerings from WildWoods Art

Spring is in full bloom here in the WildWoods and there has been a flurry of building. At auction is another set of five Fairy Mushroom Houses.


A set of three Pumpkin Houses - perfect for the Halloween or Pumpkin lover.



And finally a Fairy Tree ~ complete with a Fairy Door and stepping stones leading up to the door. This tree has been hand sculpted and painted with a unique texture to resemble bark. What little Fairy wouldn't love to call one of these places home?? Click here for listings.

Happy Earth Day!

And in celebration of this special day, my Mother-in-law 'baked' a special DIRT Cake for the occasion.



It's not actually DIRT but rather a yummy combination of crushed oreos layered with chocolate pudding which has been mixed with cream cheese and cool whip. To decorate it, she used flower shaped suckers and mint sprigs. YUM!

An Award

Zan from Wild At Heart Art has given me an award. Zan is such a sweetie! She creates the most wonderful art dolls and she is currently hosting a Swap ~ Under the Sea Swap. Be sure to check out her blog for more info!

This Renee award was originally created by Bella and Ces in honour of their friend Renee.

In Bella's own words "this is a brand new award and I have the pleasure and honor of spreading the seed, watching it grow. I hope it finds it's way to those who are like Renee: the acorn, a small package becoming a tall and sturdy oak, giving more acorns, becoming tall and sturdy oaks, giving acorns..."

I am very honored to have received this award. And now I must pass it on to 8 people.

1. Jenny of Seize the Moment
2. Missy of Fairy Child Heirlooms
3. Amelia of Sweet B Folk Art
4. Dot of Dabbled
5. Richie of An Arkies Musings
6. CarrieJoy of CarrieJoyArt
7. Sherry of Byrum Art
8. Carmen of Spooky Hollow Folk Art

Thank you to all of you for being an inspiration and for giving so freely of yourselves!

P.S. I live in a little hamlet outside of Mena, Arkansas that is called ACORN. The school here has a motto ~ Mighty Oaks From Little Acorns Grow.....

Mena Tornado ~ Pt. 1, Pt 2, & Pt 3

Pt. 1 ~ This is the tornado that roared through our town on the night of Thursday, April 9, 2009. The tornado itself left a path of destruction 1/2 mile and 15 miles long. Wind damage extended another 1/2 mile on either side of the path. The latest count has 200 homes/buildings totally destroyed and another 800 homes/buildings receiving minor to moderate damage.

Pt. 2 ~ The outpouring of assistance from within the state of Arkansas along with numerous neighboring states has been incredible. The generosity and kindness of strangers and neighbors alike goes beyond words. My husband, a Masonic Officer, was helping unload supplies which had been collected by the Shriners in Little Rock, when a man drove up and ask if 'this was the location to donate clothes'. My husband said yes, that he would see that the clothes made it to the donation area. The stranger then went on to explain how he and his family had lost their house in the tornado, had salvaged what they could and wanted to donate as much as possible to others who had not been so lucky. The stranger left two large garbage sacks full of clothes for other victims.

Pt. 3 ~ A week has now gone by. Life is beginning to get back to normal (whatever that is...) for most. For too many though, the normalities of every day life are still far away. Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers. And I would like to say THANK YOU to all the wonderful volunteers who have helped Mena in their time of need.

Special Note - Too often when a tragedy occurs, people don't know what to say to those affected. A few simple words are all it takes to brighten someone's day - Something as simple as, 'I'm thinking about you.' can mean the world to someone.

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore....

On Thursday, April 9, 2009, an EF3 Tornado (with winds up to 165mph) swept through the small mountain community of Mena, Arkansas. I'm sure you have probably seen something about this on the news at some point in time in the past few days. I live in Mena Arkansas. And the pictures that have been presented to the public are only a mere inkling of the true devastation. It boggles the mind to see the destruction and to try and fathom the force that could cause it. My husband, Ed, and I rode out Hurricane Lili, which struck southern Louisiana in 2002. The devastation from that hurricane really doesn't even compare to what I have seen in the past few days.

My daughter Jenny, and two grand daughters had arrived only three hours before. We were all looking forward to a wonderful weekend visit. But, in a blink of an eye, our plans were changed. Fortunately Ed and I live out in the country and we were spared. My mother-in-law, who lives in town, was spared as well but the wind damage extended blocks past her house.

Ed is a Masonic Officer at the Lodge here in Mena. The last few days have been long and arduous for him. The majority of the Masonic members are well over the age of 65 and it fell upon the younger members to try and salvage what they could. Our son-in-law Adam, who arrived on Friday, immediately went to work helping sort through the rubble.




Ed and I have a lot to be thankful for ~ Our home, our lives, and for our families. And especially for Adam and Jenny, who gave us an enormous amount of moral (and physical) support through the first few days of this very trying time. Thank you! Ed and I are both so proud that you are our kids!!

Mena, population approx. 5500, has been hit hard by the recent economic downturn, hundreds and hundreds of people have been laid off (Ed being one of them). And the recent storm damage will not be easy for many. But this is a strong community and we will work together to sort through the pieces and rebuild.

Most of the town has electricity again as well as phone service. But we are without any internet service at my house and I must go into town and use a Wi-Fi connection at a local coffee shop, so I will only be posting when I can.

Please keep those so severely affected in your thoughts and prayers.

Easter Greetings!

Luck of the Fae Fairy Swap

A while back, I had joined Missy's Luck of the Fae Fairy Swap . The Swap is now officially complete. I was so very lucky to have my dear friend, AwtenNymf, as my Swap Partner. How cool is that??!!

We were to make a Fairy Doll, a Fairy Wand, and send something Lucky or Sparkly. And my, oh my! She really out did herself with the goodies! And wait till you see the Fairy Doll and Magic Wand that she made!



Her name is Automne. And she is so adorable! Don't you just love her wings?? And her antennae??



And then the wand is just so RAD! I love his grin and his BIG eyes!


For the sparkly, I received a jar of specially concocted Fairy Dust that has a special key to unlock the mysteries I may come across in my wanderings.


And if that weren't enough, Awny also sent me the cutest 'Paper Doll' that I can color. Several packets of Flower Seeds to brighten my Fae Garden. And the coolest Fairy Coloring Book. (Wherever did she find all this neat stuff??)


Now, you're probably wondering what I made her for the swap. I made a Pumpkin Fairy by the name of Pompion.






And here is the Magic Pumpkin Fairy Wand I created.


And for the sparkly item, I sent an old chandelier crystal for her to hang in the window to create a sparkly rainbow. And the lucky item was a bright, shiny penny. I also made a couple of lavender filled sachets because she loves Lavender!

THANK YOU Awny!! For making this most wonderful swap ever! I'm very fortunate to have you for my Dear Friend!

Make Something Cool Every Day for April

Dot from Dabbled has challenged herself to create something Cool Every Day in April. And she has invited others to create along with her. So....Here I go. Once a week I will make a post about all the wonderful things I have created for that week. I can be such a procrastinator sometimes, so this will be good to prod me along!

And for this week (it's a short week so this was easy!) I have a quartet of creations.

A dozen Prim Easter Egg bowl fillers.

A Prim Egg Pin Keep/Make-do.

And a couple of photos. (I love to take pictures - not always that good at it, but I still love to take pictures!) The first is of my Forsythia bush and the second is of the Fog in the WildWoods.



Be sure to check back next Saturday to see what I've come up with!

A Give Away

Who wouldn't want to win one of these 3 Fantabulous Baskets? They are just brimming with goodies! Fabric & Buttons! Baubles & Bows! Trinkets & Treasures! Paper & Paints! (Probably even a kitchen sink waaaayyyy down in the bottom)


How can I get my grubby little hands on one of those you ask?? Let me tell you..

Visit the Prim and Whimsy GirLs blog, (it's an Art Group to which I belong) click here, stroll down the avenue and view the dozen Easter Eggs that some of our talented Artists created, leave a comment about your favorite and Wa-La! you are entered into a drawing for one of the three baskets! Just that simple.

Want a second chance to win?? Find the Golden Egg that is hidden on one of our members' blogs. When you find it, leave a comment on THAT BLOG and there you go! You're entered a second time. The winners will be announced on April 12th.

For more info on the Egg's Creator or where to purchase the Egg (As many of the Easter Eggs are for sale) click on the link underneath each Easter Egg.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!!