fairies – Page 23 – Karla's Cottage

Fairies for all ages

celebrations, fairies, family, Food and Drink, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / August 23, 2009

Fairy parties aren't just for kids!  When my Sissy turned 60, she threw herself a fairy themed slumber party.  Now, my sister, Bobbie Sue is turning 60 this week and Sissy is having us all to her home for another sleepover, BYOFW (bring your own fairy wings)
While I am in Indiana for Bobbie's celebration, I thought I'd leave you with some pictures from the earlier event.

Sissy's home is a perfect location for a fairy gathering, she collects sparkling objects, glittery trinkets, and crystal balls. Things like that are everywhere, like the ones hanging in the window behind this year's birthday girl, Bobbie Sue.
(yes, I am wearing Tinker Bell jammies, with a sparkly tuxedo jacket)
 
I had some stick on crystals on my nose, but after seeing this, that might have been a mistake, they look more like growths…
My husband's brother came to the sleep over, he's pretty close to Sissy.  Having a gay brother is almost like having a 3rd sister. Plus, he lets me draw on his face.
 
And he knows how to dress up for the occasion, too!
 

Connie is a life long friend of Sissy's and is also practically one of the sisters. She conducted a ceremony in honor of the birthday.
 

Candles and fresh flowers were just as important in the decor as all the glitter and crystal balls.

Each of us had something to say about the honoree, then about a woman in our lives who had been meaningful to us.

I convinced Bobbie Sue to let me teach her how to belly dance. Of course, I had no idea how to myself, and I dance about as graceful as a hippo. But there is something to be said for not caring how the dance looks and just going for it anyway!
 
Did I ever mention that I used to raise peafowl?  I have a lot of peacock feathers from Percy (our papa bird) and have been making fans from them with vintage millinery and ribbon added.  I thought one of the feathers would be just right to make a magic wand for Bobbie's Birthday.  
It has hot pink, curly feathers from an old hat, some silk ribbon, and a millinery bloom topped off with a jewel pried from a broken vintage brooch.
Now, for a dash of fairy dust to get the magic kicked in gear, and its ready to wrap up and give to her at the party. I can't wait!! (maybe there will be more dancing..)

A flock of Fairies

celebrations, fairies, family, Food and Drink, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / August 20, 2009

 
We flew my husband's mother from Wyoming to North Carolina for the wedding last week, and then brought her home with us for a few days after.  So, in honor of Grandma Joan's visit to Kansas, I threw her a fairy tea party with her great grand daughters.
 
Sugarwings was still in the party mood, after all the birthday celebrations this week.  She and little Pixie Pie have had a wonderful time together with so many family gatherings going on all week while Grandma Joan was here.
 
Even the big girls got into dressing up as fairies, although we couldn't convince their boyfriends to wear wings….
 
Our little ones were patient while we took some pictures before the party started. But not for too long.  At 2 and 3, waiting times are limited when there is something exciting scheduled to happen.
 
We served blueberry and cranberry herb teas, but the tiniest fairies were more interested in the spoonfuls of sugar they could add to their cups.
 Sugarwings drank cup after cup, just so she could pour more. 
 
For Sugarwing's birthday, I let her help me decorate the dining room with Dollar Store garlands.  Yes, gaudy and over the top, but she is in love with them, so we left them up for this party too.
 
We just added some fairies here and there. I happened to have a few around to use….
 
We served:
 cherry tomatoes from the garden on toothpicks with grilled chicken breast
 cherries and grapes with mandarin oranges
 crust-less cucumber sandwiches
 red cabbage with cream cheese rolled up in green tortilla shells
  peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the littlest ones.  
 
These are my fairy shoes, saved for special occasions like this.  
 
Luckily you can't really tell here, but my makeup job was a bit like Baby Jane.  Remember that scary Betty Davis movie?  I got carried away with the eyeshadow, not a pretty sight after 50… 
I'm on my way now to Indiana for my sister's 60th birthday party.  I'd better pack my fairy wings and hit the road.  The parties never end around here, huh?

My sweet boy

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, Food and Drink, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / August 9, 2009

Look what was waiting for me when I came in the house, after working for about 10 hours straight on the editing of my little story book ! Sugarwing's Daddy is a sweet heart of a son. He picked tomatoes and peppers and fresh herbs from the garden to make the sauce for the egg plant (from the garden too!)

Not only that, he was invaluable in helping me edit the book. My son has a sharp and critical eye for detail and isn't afraid to let me know if something needs changed in my artwork. It could be irritating, but it isn't because he is usually right.

Plus, did I mention he is a massage therapist??? There was also a FOOT MASSAGE for me after sitting at the computer all day. Yep, he is just about a perfect son.

Its been a good day. Garage sales in the morning, the farmer's market with Sugarwings and her Daddy, then I finished and ordered prints of the book!

Here is the cover.

And this is the title page.

Beth and I had a craft day at her house yesterday, and I painted this page while we talked. I decided that it is much easier to pack for craft day if I'm just painting a little something. If I am packing for a whole hog craft day project, I have to haul boxes and bags of supplies with me!

Beth has a great studio, there is so much to see there. And it is FULL of vintage treasures. You could say overflowing… We joked about starting a new diet fad, the Craft Room Diet. You fill your studio with so much stuff that you have to lose weight to fit in the room with all of it.

Poor Beth, I might have over stayed my welcome. I tend to lose track of time and keep working away. It was after 6 when I realized that maybe I should take off for home.

But she was gracious, even though I am one of those guests that you can't get rid of. She even gave me a stack of these pretty bowls.

And she sent home presents for Twinkle. Now the Dorkies have a whole new wardrobe of neck scarves to show off in.

Yesterday was a slow day for estate sales, my pickins were slim.

But even though I didn't find much, what I found was really nice! Quality beats quantity any day. Seems like I've been on a book streak lately, here is another of those slim, Victorian gift books.

All the items in this collage are in the Boutique now.

Here is the back cover of the book.

I've ordered just a couple copies to see how they look in person before I offer them to anyone. I sincerely appreciate your support and kind words (and inquiries to buy!!).

A Fairy Berry and some other goodness

Books, fairies, family, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 6, 2009

My Blue Mood is behind me now, thanks for all your thoughtful and caring comments about it. Really, it was not a big deal at all. I think everyone has those days, they are just part of life and aren't anything to worry about. Not everyday can be over the rainbow. And you know what, sometimes, even when things are perfect, a mood can be wonky and out of it. It just happens.

I used to be much worse about moodiness, but had a hysterectomy back when I was 40 (the day before my 40th birthday actually!!) Now that I am hollow like a chocolate Easter Bunny, most of my moods are on a pretty even keel. But those cranky days do come around, and when they are passed, the next day seems even better than it really is.

Of course, my day really was pretty special….. We started out with a tea party breakfast.

And yes, I hate to admit it, but I have succumbed to Disney Princess mania around here. We are serving our tea party breakfast from Cinderella's breasts.

This table and chairs was 4 bucks at a garage sale this weekend and I wanted something to replace the highchair in the kitchen, so that Sugarwings had her own space in there. I was hoping to find a cute, vintagey table, but no luck yet. Hopefully, something elegant and beautiful and equally cheap will turn up and I can replace this media frenzy monster that is smack dab in the middle of my kitchen.

But I am kind of afraid that Sugarwings won't let me… She loves this one. Ooops!

Her favorite part of the meal, (well besides the garish table and chairs) was this mini grape that she called a "fairy berry" because it was so tiny.

The last illustration for my Grumpy Fairy bedtime story is done!! Now, I just need to do a cover, and a title page.

Doing this book has taught me a lot about editing software!! I scanned vintage wallpaper, then aged and tinted it as a different color for each page's background. Then, I scanned the painting, edited and sized it on Picassa, but couldn't do a frame there. So, I went to Picnik and made frames, and did a digital collage with the image onto the background in Piccassa, then added text in colors to coordinate with the painting.

It was complicated, but worth it! When I first started, I was just using the paintings as is, but now, I really like the results of all the extra effort to pretty it up.

I'd like to get the books ordered and delivered by her birthday on August 16th. If I rush, I can do it, but I think I'm going to take my time and make sure it is right. I might order one book to start with to see how it looks. I'd like to order more to sell in the Boutique.

What do you think? Any interest?

In looking around the studio for something to give as the August Giveaway, I realized I still had some of these hand painted charms, and since I was in a painting mood, I figured they would be appropriate.

All comments, all month count. Especially, all those sweet and thoughtful ones that you sent when I was needing a lift! Thanks again!

Feeling down, but not very far down

fairies, family, flowers

By Karla Nathan / August 4, 2009

This is the aftermath when Sugarwings leaves to go to her Hippy Chick Mommy's house. I should pick up the fairy dress and sweep away the bits of play doh off the studio floor, but I kind of like seeing it all there, it makes me feel like she is still close by.

Today is a down in the dumps day. No real reason why, just a few little things that have got me down. It always seems quiet around here after I've had the whole family here and a lot going on, then they go off to their own ways and I'm on my own. I usually take advantage of those days and zip through a lot of studio hours, but for some reason, today, I am having problems adjusting.

So, I took myself out of the house and into the garden so soak up some sunshine and have a little bit of flower therapy.

Being greeted by a sea of pink Surprise Lilies every where I turned was just what I needed. (And I did a good job of looking at the overgrown masses of perennials that needed divided and weeded as "lush" not "messy".)

The purple cone flowers were still in full force too. This mild summer has kept everything beautiful. A typical August usually means a dry and cracked ground with brown grass. Not this year!

And the cleomes have taken off too! They are still short, and will grow another foot or so, but the blooms are thick and filled with little white butterflies.

I'm just sure that there has to be a few fairies flitting about in that jungle of blooms.

I'm feeling a little better after my walk around outside. But I might just take off and see a movie this afternoon too. There is magic in a dark movie theater, I love to go to afternoon movies all by myself. Especially if there is a zombie movie to go see, but looks like I'll have to settle for a sappy romantic comedy. I've heard great reviews of 500 Days of Summer. Sounds like a good cheer up one to see.

Feeling a bit down isn't exactly a bad thing. I guess you need some blah days to really appreciate the best ones when they come around. A bit of bleckiness won't hurt me now and then. On the other hand, I'm not a believer of wallowing in self pity or letting the sad days take over. So, I'll take a bit of today to let myself be sad about some things that are not going well, miss my family, and feel a tad bit lonely. Then, I'll get over it and move on.

Enjoying the flowers in the garden, and playing with my garden of vintage hats, seeing a movie, then maybe treating myself to ice cream for dinner and taking joy in the fact that I don't have to cook for anyone should be just the ticket for cheering up my day.

(I spent some time taking pictures of millinery for the Boutique today, including some fall and Halloween colors)

And how can I stay down for long, after getting this beautiful party invitation from the mailbox!? My sister, Bobbie Sue is turning SIXTY, and Sissy is throwing her a slumber party where we all get to dress up in our fairy wings.

Thanks to all of you who helped me get a hold of my Typepad dilema. I'm trying out Mozilla Firefox as a browser, so far, so good!!!!!!!

Fluttery friends

fairies, family, flowers, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 31, 2009

The Omaha Zoo is fantastic! Our little Topeka zoo is cute and easy to take little ones to for a couple of hours, but the one in Omaha is in a whole other category. Its not just a simple walk around a park with animals to look at, here, each building is an adventure. We especially liked the aquarium where you could walk under the glass tunnel of sharks.

My husband and I had just taken Sugarwings there a few weeks ago, but saw less than half the zoo, because we let her go at her own pace, and if she wanted to sit and play with dirt and rocks instead of squeezing in another sight, we let her. This time, we took her Daddy along with us and his attitude was, that she can amble along and be entertained by dirt anytime. Today was the day to see what the park had to offer.

And still we didn't see all of it!

It might have been a bit much, this is what we ended up with. Our fairy baby wore herself out. We rented a wagon to pull her in and it was worth every penny of the $12.95 it cost. She was able to rest up and get her happy face back on so she could enjoy the butterfly house and the jungle experience.

She started out a little sleepy and cranky in the butterfly house, but once she got to put on her own butterfly wings, she felt better.

And when she got to make friends with some of the other winged creatures, then the fun started.

Her Daddy took this picture. He seemed to know more about my camera than I did

and taught me some tricks with it.

The butterflies were our favorite part of the day!

But this dainty little "Fairy Bluebird" had to be my favorite zoo inhabitant. Isn't she pretty?

Its been hard to get back to work today after such a fast, but fun filled trip. I wasn't feeling like sitting right down and painting more illustrations for the Grumpy Fairy book, so I spent a while sorting some old millinery flowers. These sets are listed in the Boutique. I also "cleaned house" there and deleted some sold goods and added some more easy to follow categories.

But now, I need to get cracking on the fairy paintings. I was so caught up in the painting process, I hated to stop and leave for the trip on Wednesday, and now that I am back, I have to restart the creative flow and get into that groove all over again. I don't transition well….

All items
Sale priced goods
Flea Market Finds
Hand made by Karla
Vintage Craft Supplies or Kits
Aprons
Vintage jewelry
Millinery blossoms
Vintage wallpaper

Here are the new categories, what do you think?

Sillies and snippets and the July Garage Sale Giveaway Prize Pack list

antiques/junking, fairies, give away, paintings

By Karla Nathan / July 28, 2009

As I was laying down the bits of sparkle that I bought at a garage sale this weekend, it started to remind me of a face, so of course, this is what I HAD to do with them all…. I guess, I should have added millinery flower hair, that would have been cute. And I wonder why I never get anything done, I spend my time on this kind of activity instead of working.

My days never seem long enough. But today, I did manage to focus and get packages sent out, and two of these little brooches listed in the Boutique.

I also got three paintings finished for the Grumpy Fairy story I am illustrating. Thanks for all of your encouragement about the story, I decided to go ahead and make a book from it. This picture is of the Blue Bird of Happiness.

Here is a snippet of the Fairy Grandmother flying off to find the soft things to make a nest from.

I did 3 paintings today and 3 yesterday. That just doesn't seem like much to me, I am pretty fast. But I really want these to be special, so I am not rushing through them.

Tomorrow we are heading back up to Omaha to take Sugarwings to the zoo again, so not much more will get done on the book till next week. Its hard to tear myself away from it now that I have started. I don't have my paints out nearly enough, its been great to play with watercolors again! I'd take them along on the trip if I had any chance of getting any thing done without Sugarwings ~~demanding~~ offering to help. She likes to paint even more than I do.

Well, July is coming to a close, Friday is the 31st. I might get to garage sales one more day before my JULY GARAGE SALE GIVEAWAY PRIZE PACK is ready to send out.

From last weekend, I added the sterling bar pin with the little girl on it. Isn't she a cutie? Leave a comment if you want to be entered in the drawing.

Lets see, what's in the giveaway?

the bar pin
bag o' buttons
buttons on a cute card
floral hankie
dainty doily
vintage postcard
sprig of flowers
an eensy English bone china plate
a small, round, framed print
pair of pink seashell clip on earrings

Safe and Sound (plus a bedtime story and some aprons)

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, Silver Bella, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / July 22, 2009

Thank you all, for your concern for Twinkle! I could tell you all could feel the pain of losing a helpless little pet and the hopeless dread that goes along with it. I appreciate all your big-hearted comments! While she was missing, I was so worried. Sparkle and I put on a bucket of bug spray and hunted through the 7 acres of trees on our property, in fear that Twink's collar had snagged on a branch, and she had been cold and alone in the woods overnight. I drove up and down the streets, dreading a stain in the road that would mean she had been hit by a car. All the worst case scenarios were running through my brain.

Thankfully, my little Dorkie is safe and sound, and is now being pampered and cuddled (plus watched like a hawk!).

Twinkle has decided that Sugarwing's new bed must certainly be meant for her, not the fairy grand baby. The mattress I made for it is thick and soft and fluffy, and since it is a miniature bed, it is low to the ground. Even chubby little Sparkle sneaks up onto it, even though it has been years since she has been able to jump on the sofa or our bed by herself.

Sugarwings calls it her "Princess Nest" because of one of her favorite stories that I tell her at bedtime. The story is about a sleepy fairy who is grumpy but will not go to sleep.

When I first showed you the bed in its before stage, I mentioned that I paid way too much for it at an auction, but I guess what I meant was I spent too much in Auction Thinking Dollars. Have you ever noticed that price is relative to where you are shopping? If I'd seen this miniature antique 4 poster bed at a nice antique store, I'd have thought it was the world's biggest bargain at $70. At an auction, I felt like I over paid!

(It does have finials for the tops of the posts, but they are so narrow and pointy, I thought they might be dangerous, so left them off. I'll probably add knobs to the tops of the posts later)

And my other redo project? This $35 hutch from the Shabby Chic garage sale came out great! It has so much space in it, I don't even have it full yet.

Notice the beautiful, blooming ball in front of it? That was a gift from my pal, Kim. I won it on her giveaway!

I'll show more photos of the hutch, and the rest of the studio from yesterday's craft day on Friday when I join in on what looks like an interesting party. Karen is hosting the event and asks us to show our creative areas.

Its been a long time since I threw a blog party myself, I should think about it, they are so much fun to go to. I look forward to seeing this one!

Maybe an apron party? Aprons are the theme for Silver Bella this year and that has got me thinking about them.

The theme got me looking around at aprons in a new way. So did the swap Heather and Stephenie hosted this spring.

So, I've been foofing up some aprons with millinery, ribbons and jewels. Some are listed in the Boutique, along with some other new items. (The sale for my Etsy shop has morphed into a new version, prices are marked down in the shop itself. Thank you to everyone who shopped with me and scooped up some half price deals!)

Oh, and here is the updated photo for the JULY GARAGE SALE GIVEAWAY PRIZE PACK.

I'm finding lots of tidbits to add to this month's giveaway at garage sales! Isn't that English bone china little plate pretty? (it was only a nickle)

At craft day, I tried to make Sugarwings paper dolls, but the hair color looks more red than blonde when I printed the doll onto cardstock. I need to do some tweaking…

I'll leave you with the bed time story Imade up to tell the baby when she doesn't think it really is bedtime. And also with my thanks once again for all of your kind messages about Twinkle!

edit- sorry, I have to delete the story, working in Word, then copying the text to typepad caused problems with some readers being able to open the posts.

Damsels in Distress

antiques/junking, fairies, family, flowers

By Karla Nathan / July 1, 2009

The trip to Florida wasn't all sad stuff. My Aunt's funeral was uplifting, so many people had such good things to say about her. She was gracious and kind and a wonderful role model to live up to.

While down in the Sunshine State (where we were just about guaranteed a big blast of heavy rain every afternoon), my Sissy and I road tripped it from coast to coast and saw family (and antique shops) all the way.

We stayed with baby bro, Randy, and his family in Jacksonville. This mosaic is of my furry little niece and nephews. (Yep, that represents more Picassa fun time there, I learned a few more editing tricks!)

Randy and Kevin's garden is set up as an open invitation for fairies to come and play in the flowers.

Butterflies too! The yard is pesticide free, so the soon to be butterflies will be safe.

The place was so inviting, all I wanted to do was explore all the nooks and crannies, because there were such delightful surprises tucked in under the blooms!

And what did I buy on the trip? Well, I have to say that my hat whispering skills were top notch!

It was heart breaking to see that Mt. Dora is no longer chocked full of antique shops. Even so, we did manage to keep busy and I over filled my suitcase. To the point that it was over the weight limits, and I thought I'd have to stuff my carry on bag full of the heaviest stuff (5 rolls of gorgeous old wallpaper for $2.99!!!) But the Southwest Airlines agent let me leave it as is and didn't charge me for the overweight bag. SW is always the BEST.

These girls were so wrong, they were right. They caught my eye right away, well, with those garishly bright colors how could I miss them? But I saw potential in them, even if they are so unattractive they are too embarrassed to look at the camera as is.

First thing I did was cut those extra long, monkey styled arms in half! Then, on this one, I pulled off the brightest of the trims, and added some pretty pastels. Old crocheted lace, millinery flowers, a new hat (made from velvet flower petals), and of course, some fairy wings!

Now she is feeling self confident in her appearance and is saucily looking right into the eye of the camera.

Her formally red, white, and blue sister (who looked a bit too much like Wonder Woman to start with) really had a beautiful design of sequins, I just couldn't live with the colors. So, a little bit of spray paint with glitter sprinkled on while the paint was still wet gave her a makeover.

She also got a flower petal hat, more flowers on her gown, jewelry and a magic wand made from a hat pin. And of course, no more monkey arms. She has dainty little fairy wings, that don't show in this photo.

Sometimes I wonder about what I spend my time on. I am so far behind from being gone on one trip after another and I know I need to get caught up, get things listed on line and clean up my Etsy and Boutique, but I couldn't help myself. I saw these poor ugly ducklings and had to be their fairy godmother and turn them into swans!

I'm also finishing up the books I promised to list and will add all the new items to the shop at once and have a much needed makeover there too.

For now, it is back to my job as a fairy godmother, there are a few of those girls still waiting for my help!

Oh, and the winner of the June giveaway is:

Becca of Bluebirds and Roses. She was one of my very first blog friends, how nice!

Don't forget, a new contest starts today! All comments, all month are in the drawing for whatever the heck that prize will be.

Blue Birds, Blue Berries, and talking about beautiful gifts till I am Blue in the face!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, show and tell, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 23, 2009

Thank you for all your kind comments about the passing of my Great Aunt Caroline. She was a gracious lady who led an interesting and full life. I hope I can inherit some of her longevity genes! Not only did she live to just a few days short of 101, she did so in excellent health up until the very end. And she passed away quietly in her sleep with no trauma. Not a bad way to go, at all. Lucid and no pain.

My flight to Florida is Thursday, and I am trying to get caught up before I go. I added this pearl collar to my Boutique, and have been making some projects to add too, but most likely, will not be able to till I return.

One thing I needed to be caught up on was showing off the pressies I've been getting! It has been feeling almost like Christmas around here lately and I haven't had a chance to get pictures of the lovely loot till now.

My friend, Jenn Queen of the Garden Fairies sent me this Millinery School book. I wish I could really go! And not to a modern one, I want to go back in time and attend this school and play with all the flowers and trims there.

And at our Blogger's Shopping Day in Leesburg, VA, there was a flurry of gifts being exchanged. Amy Powers created the sugared and framed bluebird, that is so cute next to the minuscule flowers that Robin crafted from coffee filters and sticker dots. Can you tell what she has used for a vase? The lid to a spice bottle!

Andrea gifted us with gift tags, all sparkly and pretty and packed in a tin.

Please excuse Twinkle's vanity, but she insisted that I pay attention to her instead taking photos of everything else…

Most of these gifties have been used already, so I can't show you how cute Heather and Stephenie's little straw basket was when it was filled with blooms, or the hand knit wash cloth that Bethmade. I saved the packaging she made for it, (the tube covered in ephemera) but the wash cloth has been hard at work already. She has given me a few of these over the years and I just love to use them. I keep one in the kitchen to wipe the fairy grand baby's face after meals, because the cotton yarn is just right for a baby's soft skin.

In a previous post, I mentioned the great idea that Pamela had for the travel folders, filled with tags to tie to our packages, room for receipts and business cards, etc. And Hope gave us post cards from her shop, that I just can't use, I will save in the folder Pamela made along with other mementos of the day.

You are probably thinking that is all I have to show you???? No way!! It has been a gift-a-thon around here!!!

In today's mail, these wonderful Blue Bird plates arrived from Jenny!! I quickly filled them with fresh, hot blueberry muffins. Don't things taste even better off of pretty plates? It was so thoughtful of her to send these to me, after she saw the post about my mini collection of this china.

Jenny has an antique shop in Raleigh, and I just found out that my husband has that city in his region now. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to travel with him there and check out her store and thank her in person.

And there is more…..

Andrea sent a voluminous bundle of beauty my way! Full of vintagey tidbits and treasures. Including a hand made frame, for a photo of Sugarwings. And out of old pastel wallpapers and glitter. Now that even more yummy than a fresh muffin!

But wait, I am still going- yes there is MORE. How lucky am I?

First of all, pretty lucky to have a friend like Beth, who sent me this wallpaper pack from Holly's shop after I mentioned how much I loved the chocolate brown paper. I am beyond lucky, don't you think?

And so lucky that Sugarwings is fine, no problems from her episode of mushroom munching in the grass. The poison control center thought that the mushrooms were dangerous and sent us to the ER, but a specialist in mushrooms happened to live in the area and came in to inspect them and told us that they were a safe variety.

Thank you all for your concern about her. And now, she has a fairy guardian on the shelf above her bed, a gift from Lori,that is just about as precious as little Sugarwings is!

Thanks, everyone for the fantastic gifts! And don't forget that I have one for you, this month's gift drawing will be on the 30th and is one of my tag journals.