Blessed Are The Things With Wings... Part 1

Words and images copyright 2012 Susan Faye. All rights reserved.

May not be reproduced in ANY form, including electronically, without express written permission of the artist. Thank you for respecting this policy with regards to ALL artists--it's good karma!!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

And that means it's time for Gardenkeeper Tiana to get busy-- you see, she has a thing for things with wings.

So much so that every corner of her freshly blooming garden is designed to attract ANY creature lucky enough to have the gift of gravity-defying flight.

First she must clean and repair the things to please the things with feathered wings: bird feeders and bird houses and bird baths placed strategically near tall trees and bushy bushes so that even the smallest of tweeters will feel safe.

[click here for Yard Envy's great tips for Attracting Birds to Your Bird Feeder]

Then it's time to fill the tiny pond to attract things with iridescent wings: the dragonflies and damselflies. Tiana uses a wooden half-barrel to create a mini-pond in a corner of her garden, complete with lily pads and lotus flowers.

[click here for the National Wildlife Federation's tips on Attracting Dragonflies to your Yard]

Next she is planting lots of sweet-smelling and brightly-colored herbs, perennials and flowering shrubs to lure the nectar-seeking things with wings. Pink and red blossoms seem to be a particular favorite of butterflies and hummingbirds.

[TheButterflySite.com has lots of great tips for creating a butterfly garden, with lists of butterflies for each state. Click here for more information: Butterfly Gardens


Also, she has planted a small grove of dwarf citrus trees for the busy buzzing kind of winged thing, because orange blossom honey is her favorite.

[For a list of honey flavors you may have never heard of, visit the National Honey Board's article on Honey Varietals]

And finally, this year she hopes to attract the fuzzy mammalian type of winged thing. Yes, she has hung a several bat houses around the garden and is keeping her fingers crossed...you see, there is one winged thing that Tiana does NOT want in her garden: the whining, biting kind. According to Bat Conservation International, a single bat can capture 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour!

[click here for the National Wildlife Federation's article on how to Build A Bat House]

"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful". ~Abram L. Urban

Are You An Early Bird?

According to my Very Scientific Poll conducted on my Facebook page over the past 24 hours, 22 people responded to the question: "Are you an early bird?"

7 said "No, I prefer to be a night owl"
4 said "It depends on how early the garage sale starts"
3 said "Yes, I'm healthy, wealthy and wise""
4 said "Yes, I am very much an early bird"
2 said "If 10 am is early, then yes I am an early bird"
1 said " Only if there is coffee and a cinnamon bun involved"
1 said " Cockadoodle do!"

It's not too late to contribute to the Highly Scientific Poll-- just hop over to my Facebook page, make sure you are a "liker", then scroll down a few posts to find the poll on Feb. 17. The scientific community greatly appreciates your valuable input!

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Harbingers of an Early Bird Spring

Speaking of early birds, look what popped up in our new yard!

The first bloomers of 2012, a few weeks early! Spring must be just around the corner!

When we bought our new house in late September, things had already gone dormant and there weren't very many clues about what was growing in our yard. It's been fun to see all of the places that bulbs are sending up shoots... most look like they will be daffodils, but I'm seeing potential irises, and maybe a few tulips.

Do you have any early bird bloomers in your neck of the woods?

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NEW!
A little something for that cheerful morning person in your life!
Introducing my Early Bird pendant and earrings, now available in my Etsy Shop.

I've been having lots of fun lately trying out some brand new settings. A mini print of my watercolor artwork has been preserved under a crystal-clear glass dome, then set into an antiqued bronze-plated setting.

The pendant is 1-1/4" in diameter and includes a coordinating 18" chain with a lobster clasp.

The petite earrings are each 1/2" in diameter and feature a leverback earwire (there is a hinged clasp on the back to keep the earwire in place). [Note: the earwires are brass-plated, so please keep this in mind if your ears are sensitive to this type of metal.]

If you purchase the boxed set with BOTH the pendant and earrings, you will save $4.00! Just click on any image for more details on that item...

Enjoy!

So Many Secret Gardens, So Little Time!

I'm just loving all of the beautiful descriptions of special garden hideaways in the Secret Garden Giveaway, aren't you? They all sound so beautiful and peaceful. I'll take one of each, please!


Katy~The Country Blossom said... The five must haves for my own secret garden would be roses, lots of roses! I would love walls covered in ivy (like in the book and movie the Secret Garden), a swing, growing herbs and a bench in the middle! :)

Fage said... My secret garden would have thousands of colorful flowers, a quiet, still pond, lush green grass good for laying down and watching the clouds, a gazebo for picnics and last of all a huge tree for shade... Am i there yet?

Chrissykat said... My secret garden would have a screened in porch (so the kitties are safe & so are the birds), Lilac bushes full of hummingbirds, a birdbath, a water fountain & thousands of daisies.

Birgit said... Anything goes in my secret garden, doesn't it? Well then... In my secret garden there would be a hedge labyrinth with a comfortable bench in the middle, the magic apple tree from "Garden Spells," lots of birds and butterflies, millions of flowers in every color, and, of course, a handsome gardener who helps me keeping the garden perfect and secret.

There is still time to share YOUR five must-haves for your own secret garden...

Visit the Secret Garden Giveaway and share your recipe for a perfect secret garden and you will be entered for a chance to win one of three prizes. Three names will be drawn at random on Sunday, August 28th, to receive their choice of a brand new Secret Garden print or pendant (includes chain) from my Etsy shop ($16-18 value, plus includes shipping to anywhere worldwide).

Thanks for participating!!

Secret Garden Must-Haves Are Revealed!

Question:

What Are The Five Must-Haves
For Your Own Secret Garden?

Pine Ridge Treasures said...My five secret garden must-haves are: a gentle breeze, colorful birds, pretty pansies, a comfy wicker chair, and a wise owl.

Cat Mom said...My secret garden would have a big old oak tree with a swing hanging from one of the branches. There would be a faerie garden with a little brown toad keeping watch over the wildflowers and giant sunflowers under which a garden of pumpkins would be growing. A tiny saw whet owl would would make her home in the big oak and a family of feral cats would feel safe enough in the garden to call it home.

Artistic Diva said... My secret garden would include a wild rose arbor, a water fall, a shade tree filled with birdsong, a lovely garden swing, and two or three beautiful black cats. That would be heaven.

Join in and dream a little...What are the five must-haves in your own secret garden?

Visit the Secret Garden Giveaway and share your recipe for a perfect secret garden and you will be entered for a chance to win one of three prizes. Three names will be drawn at random to receive their choice of a brand new Secret Garden print or pendant (includes chain) from my Etsy shop ($16-18 value, plus includes shipping to anywhere worldwide).

Thanks for participating!!

My Secret Garden Giveaway

Question:
What Are The Five Must-Haves
For Your Own Secret Garden?

Paprika the Garden Cat Says: "A secret garden is a quiet place to be still and thoughtful with your hopes and dreams; it's a beautiful place to spend time with your special siblings-- daughters and sons of Mother Earth, just like you and me and Sunny Sam.."

In the last post we found out that Annika's must-haves for her secret garden are: tulips, a wise owl, ginger garden cats, a tiny green beetle, and the perfume of the flowers on the wind.

In my own secret garden my must-haves are peppers, tomatoes, basil, busy bees, and a garden fairy...



What are your five must-haves? Tell us in the comments section of this post and you will be entered to win one of three prizes. Three names will be drawn at random and will receive their choice of a brand new Secret Garden print or pendant (includes chain) from my Etsy shop ($16-18 value, plus includes shipping to anywhere worldwide).

My inkjet prints are printed on high quality matte photo paper with Epson Durabrite Ultra inks. The print will be signed by me. Matting and frame are not included. The print may be placed directly into an 8 x 10" frame, or matted in an 11 x 14 matting that has an 8 x 10 opening. Now available in my Etsy shop!


A mini print of my whimsical artwork has been preserved under crystal-clear glass, then hand-crafted into a sparkling pendant. The glass tile features a silvertone bail. Now available in my Etsy shop!

Giveaway ends on Sunday, August 28, at 8 p.m. Pacific Time.

Entries will also be accepted in an identical post over at The Hive.

Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you are the winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address . You may send info directly to my email if you don't want to make your contact info public. If you visit www.susanfaye.net , you will find an email link. Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, you may send your entry directly to my email.

Thanks for participating!

Story Time in Annika's Secret Garden

Words and images copyright 2011 Susan Faye. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in ANY form, including electronically, without express written permission of the artist. Thank you for respecting this policy with regards to ALL artists--it's good karma!!

Welcome
to the secret garden.

I am Paprika, the Garden Cat, and this is my boy, Sunny Sam.


Come with me through the garden gate, but shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone how you found it. It's a secret, you know...


A secret garden is a quiet place to be still and thoughtful with your hopes and dreams; it's a beautiful place to spend time with your special siblings-- daughters and sons of Mother Earth, just like you and me and Sunny Sam...

...just like Annika, my girl, and the Gardenkeeper of the secret garden. With food and water and a sprinkling of love, she encourages all of us to grow and thrive...


...like Horace the Owl. He likes to sleep during the day but will always wake up long enough to greet visitors whenever they stop by.





"Whoowelcome friends," he croons before his sleepy eyelids flutter back into place.





...like the fragrant flower blossoms that sway to the music of the breeze. Listen...can you hear the wind song too? Annika loves how the tulips tickle her nose with their delicate perfume and make her eyes dance with their sweet candy colors.




...and like the little green beetle that lives in the perfectly peachy tulip, three pink blossoms to the right of the shade tree.


Hope you have enjoyed your stay in the secret garden; you are welcome back any time. Your sisters and brothers will be waiting for you.



All under the watchful eye of Mother Earth,

And her mom, Grandmother Sun.

It's one big happy family. Aren't you happy to be a part of it?


Thanks for visiting! Come back soon!





Prints of The Secret Garden are now available in my Etsy Shop.
Click here to see several versions... Secret Garden Prints

The Secret Garden

Welcome ...

...to the secret garden. If you want to find it, it's tucked away in the hills next to the woods near the forest just a stone's throw away from the pond across from the creek. It involves a small greenhouse that the Mister and I built from a kit several summers ago so that we could grow some heat-loving lovelies in the cool of the Pacific Northwest . Take your sweater off and come on inside...

...where you will find four kinds of basil...

...and five kinds of peppers
and eight kinds of tomatoes...

...and bees are always welcome!


And...SURPRISE!
There's even a secret garden within the secret garden...

...where a garden fairy lives with her three cats. They enjoy afternoons sitting beneath the bright umbrella blossoms of petunias and butter-yellow nasturtiums...

...and there's one more little friend in the secret garden's secret garden.
He gets to stay only if he promises not to eat the nasturtiums.

Do you have a secret garden? I'm so in love with the idea that I just finished a new illustration called...what else..."Secret Garden"! Here's another little snippet of the painting. Can you find the little green garden beetle? I'll reveal the whole painting in my next blog post.

In the mean time, I think I've got a little watering to do...

Thanks for visiting!

Tutorial: How To Make a Desktop Diorama

Today I'm going to show how I create my fanciful desktop dioramas, like those pictured here.

A diorama is a "three-dimensional miniature or life-size scene in which figures, stuffed wildlife, or other objects are arranged in a naturalistic setting against a painted background".
For this project you will need to find a small box with a "window" in the lid. I found these stainless steel spice boxes online. Make sure that it is deep enough for several layers of images.

This little box is 3 inches square and 2 inches deep.

You could also use a wooden shadow box like this one that I found at a local craft store.

You can draw and paint your own motifs, use pictures from books or magazines, use rubber stamp art, or clip art from your files. I'm using one of my own illustrations for this project.

I've taken motifs from the illustration and reduced them in size on my computer so that they will fit into a 3" square space. Then I printed them on white card stock.

If you are using art that is on lightweight paper, such as images from a book or magazine, use a good paper glue and glue them onto card stock or other sturdy, heavyweight paper. I'm going to use that flower patch square that's in the right hand corner for the background, so I made sure it is at least 3" square to cover the back of the box.

Next I place the box on top of the background art and trace around it with pencil.

Then I cut it out just inside of the lines. I cover the back of it with a thin film of glue (I have used both Aleene's Tacky Glue and E6000 Craft Glue and either one works fine) and then place it inside on the back wall of the box, pressing it firmly to make sure it lays flat.

IMPORTANT STEP: Each piece (except for the background square) is going to need a little 1/4" tab at the bottom for gluing. I always draw it in with a pencil so that I don't forget it when I'm cutting out the pieces.

Next I cut out the other pieces that I plan to use. I use small, sharp scissors that make it easy to maneuver around tiny details.

I fold back each tab and crease it really well, then fold it back out half-way so that it is at a 90 degree angle from the front.

I put a nice glob of glue on the bottom of the tab of the first element, a flower, and place it about two-thirds of the way into the box. I tamp it down with my finger to make sure it is firm against the bottom.

I add the wheelbarrow about one-third of the way from the front...

And I add the watering can at the very front of the box.

Next, I round off the edges of the tab on the piece that will decorate the top so that it will have a nice finished look to it.

I place the lid on the box...

...and then glue the top piece right behind the lid and center it. This is where a ruler comes in handy.

And voila! A little 3-D miniature world to enjoy!

I hope this gets those creative juices going and that you'll have fun creating your own diorama with images you might find in a vintage children's book, using rubber stamps, or better yet, using your own drawings!

Not feeling crafty today? You can choose from an assortment of dioramas already made up and ready to adorn your desktop -they are available in my Etsy shop: Susan Faye Originals.

Thanks for visiting!