Hope Springs Eternal....

Meet Ashley. A snowy white rabbit with a pink nose and a sparkling-like-a-diamond disposition.  Almost always.

image copyright 2013 Susan Faye

This little funny bunny has but one question lately:

image copyright 2013 Susan Faye all rights reserved

Normally she doesn't yell like that, but Ashley has been holed up in her burrow all winter long, and her stash of root vegetables is getting pretty darn low.  Not to mention her disposition.  It isn't quite so sparkly lately.

image copyright 2013 Susan Faye

And that's not blue sky that you see behind her either.  Outside the skies are gray gravy sludge, spewing rain and occasional sloppy sleet.  So Ashley's friend Bea came over and they painted the burrow walls a lovely shade of sky blue. 

image copyright 2013 Susan Faye all rights reserved

They also added a mural of fanciful flowers as tall as Ashley's pastel-pink-lined ears. Suddenly Ashley's disposition ascended from the doldrums and she broke out the box of chocolate-dipped violets that she'd been saving for just such a special occasion.  Bea was delighted.  They will paint her burrow later this week.

How do YOU beat the winter doldrums?  Do you make art, plan your spring garden, bake carrot cake?  Please share your tips in the comments section.

Get a jump on Spring with my new line of hand-crafted jewelry featuring Ashley and her friends.  Click here to see what's new in my Etsy shop: Things for Spring

Fanciful Flowers Necklace

White Rabbit Garden Pendant

Pretty Posies Garden Earrings

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

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

Story Time at the Garden Shed Continues ...

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!!

Gardner the Garden-Shed-Fluff-Monster

Maine Coon Tabby Cat Gardner takes great pride in his magnificent mane and sensational stripes. He also takes great pride in the job title that Gardenkeeper Carletta has bestowed upon him: Fluff Monster.

As Official Fluff Monster of the Garden Shed, Gardner's duties include: stalking creeping crawlies, swatting at fluttering flitteries, and shedding a continuous stream of the finest fluff for feathered friends to gather and use to floof up their nests.

Right about now Gardner would like to speed up the fluff-distribution process, as the sunbeams of summer are warming up and heavy fur coats are becoming out-of-season. Carletta will soon come to his aid with a soft brush and a good grooming, but in the meantime, he wishes he could figure out how to get inside that cool garden shed. How did Flora get in there??

READ PART I OF STORY TIME AT THE GARDEN SHED HERE: PART I

READ PART II OF STORY TIME AT THE GARDEN SHED HERE: PART II

LEARN MORE ABOUT MAINE COON TABBY CATS HERE: Main Coon Rescue

Like Flora Cat, Gardner is the star of two new handcrafted glass pendants and matching earrings now available in my Etsy shop. I've handcrafted each of these pieces of wearable art using a mini paper print of my artwork which has been preserved under crystal-clear glass. The pendants are artist-signed on the back, then sealed. A silvertone bail is added on the back. The earrings have a solid lime green back and feature a sterling silver earwire.





Also available: my collectible Garden Shed mini art zine

Enjoy!

Story Time with Flora Cat

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!!

FLORA THE GARDEN CAT

Garden cat Flora loves the summer sunshine, but when it shines too brightly onto her silky white fur, she heads for the cool blue shadows of the garden shed.

It's fun to play hide 'n' seek from Maine Coon tabby cat Gardner among the flower pots and watering cans. Sometimes Flora looks right at him through the window and he doesn't even see her. (Gardner is easily distracted by lady bug beetles and other bitty-crawly-fluttery things in the garden)...

READ PART I OF STORY TIME AT THE GARDEN SHED HERE: PART I


Flora Cat is the star of two new handcrafted glass pendants and matching earrings now available in my Etsy shop.


I used the citrus-y colors of summer in this artwork. The lemon yellow and lime green of the garden shed get a breezy cool-down from the deep blue window.

I was happily surprised by the Mondrian-like geometric pop-art effect of the window lines when I cropped the art for the square pendant:

I've handcrafted each of these pieces of wearable art using a mini paper print of my artwork which has been preserved under crystal-clear glass. The pendants are artist-signed on the back, then sealed. A silvertone bail is added on the back. The earrings have a solid lime green back; the larger dangle earrings feature a sterling silver earwire.



You'll find these brand new designs in my Etsy shop at this link: Susan Faye Jewelry.


Enjoy!

Story Time with Captain Wheeler von Barrow IV

Summer is here!

That means it's time to shed those old fur coats. Gardner the garden cat is disposing of his as fast as he can, leaving a trail of fluff behind him wherever he goes.

That means Garden Keeper Carletta can work and play in the garden all day long. Have you ever had a butterfly land on your head?



That means a brand new watering can has appeared at the garden shed. Carletta picked it out yesterday on her way home from the last day of school.


That means the very first strawberries are ripe and ready to be plucked. Ladybug Lulu is at her post, defending the bounty of berries from unwelcome pests.


That means it's time for a game of hide 'n' seek. Flora Cat is already hiding--can you guess where?

That means that the garden shed is open for business and business is blooming!

And that means Captain Wheeler von Barrow IV is ready and waiting for his first wheelbarrow ride of the summer.

You can call him "Wheeler" for short...

...as in:
Wheeeee- ler!!

Summer is here!
Let's Celebrate!

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!!

Garden Fairy Story Time: The Foundling

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!!

Hi! My name is Ellette.
One of my favorite things about being a garden fairy is having antennae.

My "feelers" help me with balance and direction, especially when I am flitting and flying about the woodlands and my posy patch. AND, just like my butterfly friends, my antennae have very special scent receptors that help me sniff out my favorite beverage: nectar.

I've made a little book showing some of my best nectar posies. Pink roses, candytuft and zinnias are my very favorites. Don't they sound delicious and fun? Here is a link to a list of the best nectar flowers for butterflies (and garden fairies too!)

Sometimes my antennae will detect smells other than nectar. Just yesterday when I was showing my posy book to a friendly white garden bunny, my antennae detected something new in the garden: the subtle scent of tuna mixed with traces of curiosity, plus a hint of irrepressible mischief.

I peeked under my garden bench, and just look at what I found:

A sweet little kitten in need of a home! My garden bunnies and I agreed that she should come live in our posy patch. She jumped up into my arms and purred loudly. I'm pretty sure that means she's staying...

Now my little foundling needs a name. Can you help me?

Help Ellette find a name for her new friend. Leave your suggestion in the comments section of this post.

Update: Giveaway entries are now closed. Thanks for participating! See all of the great suggestions in the comments section below.

Garden Fairy Ellette is so pleased! Thanks to your wonderful suggestions and your votes, her new kitten now has a name: Faerydae.

Ellette is a fabric art doll that I have hand-crafted with quilted butterfly wings. Her copper wire antennae feature crystal beads. She comes in two sizes and her arms can hold any of her three favorite things in a warm embrace: a little black and white cat (smaller doll holds a white rabbit) , a paper book called "My Garden" (it features 8 of my mini garden illustrations), and a bouquet of silk flowers.

Ellette is made from 100 percent cotton fabric that has been professionally printed with my watercolor artwork. She is filled with eco-friendly bamboo fiberfill. Surface washable only, if done gently.

To learn more about my dolls, visit this link to my Etsy Shop:
My Fairy Dolls