A fairy wonderland garden and a Prize Pack Giveaway
celebrations, Etsy Goodies, fairies, family, flowers, give away, Sugarwings
See why I am glad to be home? I missed my Sugarwings. She had a sleepover last night and we played tea party with her dolls and then this morning she let me semi-French braid her hair. 
I think her hair grew while I was gone.
After the fairy grand baby left to go home, I listed a few things on etsy, wrapped packages, and got some things ready to mail.
These are the gifts that I am sending out to the 8 winners of the drawing from the pool of card makers.
Sandy, Melissa, and Sherry– I still need your addresses. Jen, Lili, Alice, Irma, and Robin should be expecting something in the mail soon, theirs is on its way.
Thanks again to everyone for their help! And here is a note from my great Aunt Caroline’s niece, Caroline Beth, who hosted the 100th birthday party:
Our Aunt Caroline had the BEST birthday!
Most of the praise goes to all of you who donated your time and effort to show so much love and affection for a lady you’ve never even met. What a heartfelt effort!
Thanks to Karla and her sisters who were "everything" to her on her special day. She’ll talk about this forever and we’ll be delighted to listen.
All of us who were lucky enough to spend the day with Caroline were amazed at her vitality and glowing disposition. You could watch as she gained even more positive energy from her well-wishers. The cards sent a huge burst of appreciation for a life well lived and a lady well loved.
We can’t thank you enough for the blessings, thoughtfulness, and amazing beauty of your creations.
God bless you all.
Carolyn Beth ( another of Caroline’s nieces)
Caroline’s birthday wasn’t the only one we celebrated while in Florida on our Sister Trip.
We got to spend time with my brother-in-law, Randy the Birthday Boy Nathan, who lives in a house filled with antiques, laughter, and fun plus a magical garden full of fairies.
Around every corner there is a surprise in this yard.
Its full of whimsical elements and beautiful blooms. 
Not one inch of space goes to waste here. To make it seem larger, there are winding paths that keep you guessing about what is around the corner, and a mirror is hung on the bright red garden gate (I want to try that trick!).
This old iron railing was picked up at a garage sale, and re-purposed to become trellises.
It seemed like everywhere I looked, there was a smiling face looking back at me!
More garage sale finds brighten up this corner. The shiny thing hanging in the foreground is a chandelier found in the trash and taken apart to add some sparkle to the garden, since sparkly things attract fairies.
See, I told you so!
And the fairies have shelter on rainy days, here in this vase turned on its side and tucked under the foliage.
Randy and Kevin’s garden is a vacation in itself! I could spend all week just exploring all the nooks and crannies there.
My sisses and I spent a day crafting with Randy, (that explains the blue, glitter encrusted fingers). Then we spread lady bugs around the garden to eat pests, this lush landscape is not only beautiful, it is chemical free! 
Our craft day consisted of making fairy pages for each other. This is what I did for Sissy. She and I both love the smell of Birthday Cake scented candles sold at Kohl’s and have had some serious bonding time while sipping wine and burning a cake candle, so the background of her fairy page is of sprinkled frosting.
Bobbie Sue is deep into genealogy, so the fairy page for her is made from photos of my great grandfather and his brothers glued to a copy of some hand written family history.
And after seeing Randy’s back yard, you’ll understand why I made a fairy gardener on "I love you" paper for him.
My little friend and fellow fairy lover, Adeline Grace, is turning 7 this week, so when I saw a poem in an old book, titled "Adeline" I cut it out and made a faery birthday card for her with the poem glued inside.
The best vacations are ones where I get to make things, so I loved my crafting day, and also my chances to play in the sand and make a "Twinkle".
Ooops, I almost forgot to announce the winner of June’s Garage Sailing Giveaway Prize Pack-
it goes to:
Thanks to everyone who left a comment and entered the drawing. Remember, all the July comments go toward a prize too!
Caroline remembered the dress she was wearing in this photo that so many of us used in the cards and was pleased to see it. She told us about making it herself, that in the 30s, all of her clothes were hand made.
All the cards pictured today are by the people whose names were randomly drawn.
As Caroline said when she blew out her candles, "I wish you all this many happy years!"
I am almost ready for my trip. This evening was spent ruining the manicure I treated myself to this afternoon. By the way, walnut ink doesn’t look very good on newly manicured nails.
And I knew I was going to miss being in my studio, so it was also good to have an excuse to hang out here for an hour or so.
Jen Rizzo.
Maria Elena sent in a cross stitch all the way from Chile.
I promised to show my paint color for the bedroom, it is a barely there blue/aqua. And what a perfect name, "Nurture". I’d paint all my walls that color just because I love the title of it so much!
!
These prints are $25 each and are 8" x 10", so are ready to pop into a standard frame, or can be leaned on a shelf, or set on an easel as they are.
My Silver Bella friend, 
