Friday's Tid~Bits

Here's some odds-n-ends for you....

Halloween Spirit has a really cool Halloween Poetry Blog. She currently has an Epitaph contest going on and is accepting votes for the entries she received. But hurry! The voting ends Saturday (tomorrow) at midnight! The Witching Hour!

I now have a shop open at Foxberry Folk Art. Check it out in your web wanderings!


A bit of Halloween trivia:

• According to superstition, if you stare into a mirror at midnight on Halloween, you will see your future spouse.

• If you see a spider on Halloween, it is the spirit of a loved on watching over you.

• Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1. (WHAT? It's not Candy Corn??)

He Scoots! He Scores!

Besides being an expert motorcycle mechanic, Ed (my Dear, Sweet Hubby) likes to ride (and show off) his motorcycle every chance he gets. [he rides a Suzuki Volusia Intruder] Over the recent Memorial Day weekend, he participated in a Bike Show held by our local Eagles Chapter. His Bike was chosen by our (Arkansas) State Senator Teague and Ed received the Senators Choice Award.

A BIG CONGRATS to you Sweetie!

Halloween Prop Info

Here's some answers to the questions I've gotten about Hubby's (Ed) first Halloween Prop of the Year.

(I know, I know, I got in a hurry yesterday when I was posting and should've included this info then. Sorry folks!)

Hubby joined The Mad Lab . They have a monthly prop building contest utilizing ordinary, everyday objects. This month's objects were balls - any size, shape or form. Ed used Nerf balls (head & bodies), pipe cleaners (arms & legs), a coat hanger (arms & legs for the Gluttin), and some orangy Easter Grass for the Punkin Guts coming out of the mouth.

The Mad Lab has tutorials and some really awesome ideas for great Halloween props! Check it out!

And don't worry, I'll keep posting the props he builds. Until next time.... Happy Haunting!

First Halloween Prop of the Year

Dear, sweet Hubby recently joined a Halloween Prop building site. Every month they have a challenge to build a prop from everyday objects. Here is his entry for this month. His name is Punkin Gluttin. (He's a pumpkin cannibal!)

Prim and Whimsy GirLs Fairy Tale Challenge

My Prim and Whimsy GirLs Art Group is having a Fairy Tale Challenge this week.

And well, you know me, I like to be a tad bit different. So I chose a Tale from the book, Grimm's Grimmest. This book contains 'unhomogenized' versions of Grimm's Fairy Tales. They all border on the macabre. I chose the fable, The Willful Child. This fable has been printed out and decoupaged to the bottom of the piece which I created.

The Willful Child

by The Brothers Grimm

Once upon a time there was a child that was willful and would not do what her mother wished. For this reason, God had no pleasure in her, and let her become ill. No doctor could do her any good, and in a short time the child lay on her deathbed.

When she had been lowered into her grave, and the earth was spread over her, all at once her little arm came out again and reached upward. And when they had pushed it back in the ground and spread fresh earth over it, it was all to no purpose, for the arm always came out again.

Then the mother herself was obliged to go to the grave and strike the arm with a rod. When she had done that, the arm was drawn in, and at last the child had rest beneath the ground.

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And I have finished another Fairy Tree. This one has a small owl perched in the branches pondering who might be the next visitor. Both of these items are currently at auction on eBay. Click here to see these listings.

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WildWoods Art Studio Tour

Ever wonder what an artist's Studio might look like? Oh come on, you know you're curious! We all like to have a peek into someone's creative space!

Well, here's your chance to get that glimpse! Every month on the Prim and Whimsy GirLs blog there will be a studio tour of one of the PWGL member's studio. And this month it's yours truly! Moi!

So head on over to the PWGL Blog and see what the Art Studio at WildWoods Manor looks like.

See ya there!

Generosity and Thoughtfulness From Afar

It's been over a month since the town I live in, Mena, Arkansas, was struck by an EF3 tornado. The devastation and destruction encompassed a large section of the town. One of the worst hit areas was around the Masonic Lodge.


My husband is an officer in this Lodge. He and our son-in-law (who was on vacation here at the time ~ Thank you so much Adam! {{BIG HUGS}} ) along with numerous other Lodge members spent the days following the disaster trying to salvage what they could from the wreckage. Unfortunately, the majority of the contents of the Lodge as well as the building were lost.


Some mementos were found and are now stored safely away awaiting the construction of the new building. And through the generosity of others ~ both Masonic and non ~ the members of Mena's Masonic Lodge will be able to furnish their new Lodge once it is built.


But one special donation has really stood out. It is an American Flag. It was sent by Staff Sergeant Kennedy who is currently stationed in Iraq.


This flag was flown over Forward Operating Base Cropper during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

THANK YOU Staff Sgt. Kennedy!

The generosity and thoughtfulness of this Soldier half a world away has touched many people here in this remote Arkansas town.



So please, take a moment, and thank a Soldier. They give so much of themselves and yet can still take the time to remember others.

Remember it's the Little Things in Life that matter.

The Great Pumpkin Experience

My Hubby & I would LOVE to grow GIANT Pumpkins. But so far, we haven't had much success. In fact, the pumpkins here at WildWoods Manor seem to have a mind of their own!

Last year, I had planted pumpkin seeds in what I thought would be a great place for them to grow. Instead, the pumpkin seeds that had been left in the compost pile for the winter sprouted.


We had two vines grow nicely out of the compost and give us 6 basketball size pumpkins (and one small pumpkin that began to rot before it could ripen - it was fed back to the compost pile). They were great in our outdoor displays at Halloween.


Well, instead of putting them on the compost pile, I left the 6 Pumpkins where they sat and covered them with leaf mulch once they had begun to decompose. Hoping all the while that they would sprout. Well, I didn't have to hope too hard!

There are now pumpkins sprouting all around the front yard! (Got to keep them pesky squirrels out of them!) Amongst my crinum lilies, amid my rose bushes and by the front fence.




And that's not the only place! Remember the little pumpkin that didn't ripen? The one I fed back into the compost pile? Well it's progeny are sprouting as well. Only this time they are sprouting in my flower pots out in the courtyard! You see, I make my own potting soil from compost, rice hulls, & wood chips. The compost is rich in nutrients and the rice hulls and wood chips give the mixture 'fluff' - helping to keep the compost from compacting too much. There were some pumpkin seeds in this year's batch of compost potting soil.




I am letting all the pumpkins 'do their thing'. We may be covered in Pumpkin Vines by Fall.....

PWGL May Gallery Hop

The Prim and Whimsy GirLs are now selling ART from their website!

Looking for that something special for Mother's Day?? Maybe a Birthday?? Or Anniversary?? Then HOP on over to primandwhimsy.com and browse the wonderful selection of Art which has been created by these very talented Artists. You will be purchasing the Art directly from the Artist - NO Middle Man!

Stimulate Your Senses ~ and the economy ~ Buy Art !!

Happy May Day!

Today is May 1st. Otherwise known as May Day.


May Day marks the end of the long winter in the Northern Hemisphere and has been a day of celebration dating back to ancient times. There are numerous traditions and rituals associated with May Day - from the making of Flower Boats to Dancing around the May Pole to the making of May Baskets.
I can remember making May Baskets with my Mother when I was little. We would pick flowers from her many flower beds and place them in small baskets. Quite often my Mother would bake cookies to include along with the posies. She would help me carry them over to our various neighbors' houses where we would leave a basket on the doorstep. I would then knock on the door and we would both run and hide. It was so much fun!

So to celebrate this glorious Spring Day, I am sending a May Basket your way filled with some pictures of the flowers that are in bloom in my yard. Cookies will be served at 3 along with tea! Enjoy!