Happy dogs
dogs, yorkies 
We have survived a rough winter, and the dogs are appreciating having the windows open as much as I am.
Cinderella’s Carriage
fairies, family, Food and Drink, friends 
When Karen came to visit me last week, she brought along gifts from our friend, Julie. When we first saw these, we thought they were perfume bottles, then were corrected by Julie. They are actually oil lamps
But to both of us, they were Cinderella carriages!
Karen brought these supplies to use on hers. We both removed the bevelled glass (my amber glass will someday become full moons, with little witches on them) and painted the brass white.
Here is Karen's all prepped and ready for a princess to ride in.
And she even had a princess ready to roll. Ta dah!
Lovely!
We took a lunch break and had pie, (well, a wonderful lunch too, but oh man, that pie!!) at Ladybird Diner.
Karen had read about our local cafe in Food Network magazine, and wanted to check it out while she was in Kansas. I'm always up for a lunch there, the buttermilk fried chicken is my favorite and I don't need much of an excuse to go have some again.
(At this point, my bruise was 2 weeks old and not fading much, but by now it is almost 3 weeks and starting to look a bit better. It doesn't hurt, so I forget about it, and am surprised when people ask me if I am ok, or what on earth happened to me. They aren't expecting a story about Harry Potter)
Mine holds two, very special princesses.
With a unique Fairy Godmother on top. Along with a giant, vial of pixie dust. Because at our house, there is no such thing as too much fairy dust to sprinkle around.
I also broke out the very, very special, vintage silk ribbon roses for both of us to use on our royal coaches.
In mine, the clock is about to strike 12, and there are white pumpkins behind the girls.
And the princesses are decked out in very sparkly gowns.
The wheels are vintage rhinestone buttons and earrings.
Mine is not quite finished here, I still had flowers to add.
Thank you Karen, for sharing your treasures from Julie, and thank you Julie, for this gift! It already has a special place in my home.
Crafting the Bunny’s Chapeau
family, flowers, guncles, how to's 
Although Easter has passed, I still have more to show you from the holiday. I thought I'd tell you how we created Guncle Randy's bunny hat.
We started with a magnificent, pink, wool top hat. Which would have been great as is!
But we wanted it to be even more bunnified. So I tucked Easter grass under the band.
Over the band, I wrapped a white velvet ribbon and pinned it in place, then glued one end of the white ribbon to the other end of the ribbon, overlapping a bit. Our issue was, that we didn't know if the hat would need to be returned to its original glory. I don't sew, I am a die hard glue-er. But- we were not sure if we should let any glue touch the already pretty pink hat.
The white velvet ribbon became the new hat band, placed over the existing band and everything was glued to the white one.
Including the wired ears.
Using The Ultimate Glue, I layered vintage millinery flowers to the ribbon, then to each other, building a full bouquet to add more grass, eggs, and bugs to.
My plan had been to use brighter, less tattered flowers….
But the ones I had packed were lost on the flight, due to a broken zipper on my suitcase!!!! (Along with a crop-o-dile, lace, ribbons, rhinestones, Tim Holtz scissors, more flowers, gel pens, and a bottle of glue)
Well, at least it was a good excuse to buy a new suitcase for the trip home! And a much prettier one at that.
Funny, for a person who lost most of her flowers, I seemed to have plenty left. These were packed elsewhere for me to use in the classes I was going to take at the event. I had forgotten that I had a ton of vintage floral packets with me that I had planned on selling on Vendor Night, so there was no shortage of flowers that weekend. I just didn't get to use the ones I had planned on using on the hat.
But I like the way these look, so it all turned out fine.
The sides and back were decorated too. But less heavily than the front.
It was clumsy to try to glue things to the new band and to each other, not to the hat itself, and it is all put together like a house of cards. But this way, if Randy ever wants to wear a plain, pink top hat, all he needs to do is pull off that white ribbon. Everything will come off in a big bundle.
Luckily, this wire and bead posy was not lost in the luggage fiasco, because it fit perfectly into this old knife handle transformed into a boutonniere holder.
My baby bro and I had a blast making these together. Our collaborated projects are always so much fun!
Guncle Randy’s Fairy King Crown
fairies, family, guncles 
While in Florida, I helped my baby bro complete his crown for a masked ball coming up on mid-summer’s eve. Terry is making his costume, and he has been working on a “crowning glory” to top it off.
While hanging out and chatting with family, I wove some glittery fronds throughout it, to make a whimsical look, as befitting elvin royalty.
A Lovely Gift
Uncategorized 
Remember the egg carton swap I was a part of at Once Upon an Easter? Here is the creation I received from my “secret” partner, Lorraine.
She said she figured out that I was her intended giftee, and personalized her carton just for me!
Lorraine added elements of the sea, references to cottages, my home in Kansas, and hers by the beach in Long Island.
What a delightful surprise!
Hoppy Easter!
celebrations, sea shell fairies, Travel 
While in Jekyll Island, Georgia, Guncle Randy and I made a quick trip to the beach on our way back to Jax and Guncleland. The Easter workshop had been so jam packed with fun activities that we hadn’t had a chance to see the Atlantic til it was over.
It goes against every fiber of my being to be so close to the water and not get to visit it, so my baby bro made sure I had a walk on the beach to gather shells.
We found mostly broken ones, and just enough to make this bunny. The bits and pieces seemed to come together just right to develop a shell rabbit. At first, I was sad that the biggest broke as I picked it up, but once I assembled them, the break looked like the bunny was wearing a waistcoat! Even better than I had planned.
I hope your holiday is a happy one. When we take turns at the dinner table to tell everyone what we are “hoppy” about, I will have many things to share, including my trip to this beautiful beautiful island.
Once Upon an Easter
celebrations, Food and Drink, friends, guncles, holiday decor, parties, Travel, Workshops 
Jenn Hayslip’s bunny bash was every bit as special as I knew it would be.
It was great to catch up with old friends…
Meet some new friends…
Learn some entertaining tricks..
Attend a tea party with my baby bro…
Make Eastery foofiness in fun classes…
Eat wonderful food in fancy settings with fun people…
Teach a class…
Go to an Easter egg hunt…
Play dress up…
Eat more great food…
And more…
And more…
I even got to decorate an Easter tree and do some other sprucing up before things started.
Thank you, Jenn, it was lovely!
Bunnies in the Land of Guncles
Food and Drink, guncles, holiday decor, Travel 
In the last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to see Guncleland at Christmas and Halloween.
This is my first trip there for the burst of Springtime that blooms in their home.
It is adorable!
I think the key word to describe it all is Whimsical. 
Or should I go with Colorful?
But wait, I think what I’m looking for is Delightful.
No, the perfect word has to be, Delicious!
(Have you ever had fresh from the ocean, trigger fish? It is my new favorite meal in the whole world. Especially when prepared Guncle Kevin style.)
No matter the season or decor, Hospitality always describes this home.
Hospitality heavily seasoned with Love and Warmth.
Thank you, bros!
I miss you and your Adorable, Whimsical, Colorful, Abundant, Delightful, Delicious, Hospitable home, filled with Love and Warmth!
Hand painted birdie greeting cards
paintings, Workshops
When I was planning the workshop with my buddy Karen, I made up lots of sample paintings to figure out which I wanted to use for the class.
Sadly, we had to cancel our class!
I used the paintings to make some springtime cards to send to the ladies who had signed up to come to our workshop, with my apologies and a discount for them to use if they sign up to take the make up class.
Karen will be back in August for a workshop, and I hope to offer this watercolor doodley class later this spring. It will be a one day playdate, along with another project and lunch. Let me know if you are interested, seating will be limited.
Details to come, when I get all settled from my trip down south to teach in Georgia.