Sunday, April 11, 2010

Fairies in the Garden...


Good afternoon, all!

Hope the weekend has been lovely for you--it's a rather blustery Sunday here in central California--a bit exciting!

Just a few things to share with you today...it's been a busy weekend with not too much creative time, but I did manage to play with another 3D Shadowbox Frame card, courtesy of the lovely Vicki Chrisman...



These cards are just SO much fun to put together...I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record about these!  I just choose a theme I want to work with, find beautiful images (usually from Crafty Secrets!) and get going!



This little sweetie is from Crafty Secrets' "Birds and Botanicals" Images & Journal Notes booklet...the beautiful bluebird is from their "Altered Fairy" Creative Scraps...



This little one dreaming of fairies comes from Crafty Secrets' "Little Dolls" Images & Journal Notes booklet...with "Just Imagine" from the same sheet...Did you notice the gorgeous silk blossoms?  A sweet gift from Elizabeth...thank-you so much!


I love this darling fairy with the perplexed expression...wonder what she was thinking when this photo was taken, oh, so many years ago...!  She comes from the "Altered Fairy" Creative Scraps, as well....so do the beautiful eggs, which have been sparkled up with Glossy Accents & Dazzling Diamonds...the nest comes from the "Birds and Botanicals" booklet.



You never know where a tiny little fairy will pop up.....


...if you create a beautiful home in your garden for them, as my Mother did, they may become permanent residents!  Here's my beautiful daughter Chelsea, way back in 1998...peeking in the windows to see if the fairies were at home...


...and my middle daughter Sarah poses in the fairies' front yard as well.  This was Easter Sunday, and the girls were hunting for Easter eggs in their jammies...hadn't gotten their Easter dresses on yet, apparently!

Mom made this beautiful little house years ago...she's always dreaming up and creating magical things...because...you never know, do you?  If you built it, they MAY come...!

(***You need to pop on over to Cozy Little Cottage and see Brenda's beautiful fairy gardens--she has created some beauties!***)

Another woman who dreamed and believed in fairies is a great favorite of mine...Cicely Mary Barker.


Her  beautiful and fanciful paintings of fairies have been cherished by me all of my life...Mom's too.  Mary  was born in England in 1895.  She was a sickly child, but had wonderfully loving parents and a happy home.  Her father encouraged her in her drawing and paid for her to study art.  She had her first work pubilshed when she was only 16!


Her sweet fairies were painted from real life...her models were children that were attending her sister's nursery school.


...isn't that wonderful?!  Mary also wrote a little poem to accompany each fairy...

The Song of the Fucshia Fairy

Fuschia is a dancer
Dancing on her toes,
Clad in red and purple,
By a cottage wall;
Sometimes in a greenhouse,
In frilly white and rose,
Dressed in her best for the fairies' evening ball!"

You can read more about Mary and her beautiful work here...and here is her "Flower Fairy Treasury" that I love...


One last fun thing to share with you...a few days ago I received the glorious bunch of Retro Kitchen Tags from Elizabeth--our swap finally concluded!  Thanks so much Elizabeth, and all of my wonderfully creative new friends, for all your beautiful work and sharing hearts!


Isn't that a fabulously fun collection?  And to top it off, a beautiful chenille bluebird, made by Elizabeth...


...her calling card, in a way...supervising my bundle of tags as she so thoughtfully supervised our swap--thank-you, dear friend!

Have a wonderful weekend...and check your spring gardens...you never know who you might meet there!

I'll be back soon with something new...

30 comments:

  1. How interesting that we should both post about something dealing with fairy gardens on the same day! I enjoy reading anything now about fairy gardens. So thanks!
    Brenda

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  2. What an AWESOME post Julie! So fun! Add I have to say.. I just get giddy when I see you have done another shadowbox. lol You do them up so beautifully! Thank you!!!

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  3. what a beautiful shadowbox! and I love the fairy cottage. it must have been so much for your girls when they were little!

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  4. So magical...I loved all that at my grandma's home when I was a kid, she made everything magical! Come say i :D

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  5. I see Brenda already commented about her fairy garden and I was thinking the same thing. Two fairy gardens today. My daughter and I are planning our first fairy garden. We've also been working on our new kitchen garden.

    Love your kitchen tag swap! Those so speak to my heart!

    Your daughters were adorable and your mom must be too. I love that idea. I'll definitely be enjoying my garden more this spring and summer. Blogging is so inspiring!

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  6. Another amazing shadowbox!! Sigh!! Jan sent me one but I'm still intimidated by it and haven't yet started!
    That fairy cottage is AMAZING and how much fun for the girls!! WOW!! Both you & your mom are sooooooooo creative!!!
    Thanks for another wonderful posting!! You are truly an inspiration my friend!! Hugs to ya!!

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  7. Such a beautiful post, Julie, yet again!! I soooo love your fairy shadowbox card - such sweet images, sweetened even more with your amazing creativity! Love the flower fairies, too.... I need to dig out my flower fairy stamps and play!

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  8. That is just lovely!
    I think this one of my favorite things you've done thus far.

    Thank you so much for your comments on my last post, I really do value your feedback!

    All the best,
    Anne

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  9. How sweet! Your girls in the garden are just too precious! I love your Mother's fairy house, what a great idea. Very cute and a way to spark the creativity in kids.

    Happy Sunday!!

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  10. What a beautiful blog post! This is my first time here, and your whole blog setup is so pretty. I love Cicely Mary Barker's flower fairies, and, oh joy, found some vintage fabric of hers that I get to make something out of now!!! I'm almost afraid to cut into it because it's such a treasure! I just love the old photos of my kids in the garden too. Happy Sunday! Kathi

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  11. Julie, It is such fun for me to see our tag swap on others blogs. It is as though I am seeing the tags for the first time again. I love to hear about your mother, she sounds so much like my own. Imagination at the drop of a hat! Thanks for introducing this wonderful fairy artist. ABC Fairies are truly special! Elizabeth

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  12. Julie...its beautiful again...so sweet.

    Hugs,Willy

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  13. Julie, I enjoyed reading about Miss Barker. Her art is very beautiful. So is yours! I love the frame card! Aren't those tags from Elizabeth's swap the cutest?! Hope you have a good night! Twyla

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  14. wow what fun you had making those cards! those tags are so cute : )
    blessings,
    aimee

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  15. Julie, your card is fabulous and the post is fabulous too :)
    Julie, did you think of writing stories for children? Everything you write is very fascinating and easy to understand.
    Hugs, Nimucha :)

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  16. Loving your shadow box and all those yummy phots I will have to keep an eye out for some UK similar items and the retro tags wer a lovely gift in deed

    Love Dawn xx

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  17. Love your mom's fairy house...and the pictures of the girls there are really sweet. Magical!

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  18. Oh, I just loved this post! Being of Irish descent, I'm a great fan of fairies and their mischief!! I just gave up on picking my favorite of these pictures! They're all just so lovely! Makes me want to build a fairy house in MY yard, too!

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  19. These are just amazing! Love them!!!

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  20. Your blog is great
    beautiful and lovely
    Daniela Faillace
    Brazil

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  21. Fabulous card and you mum's fairy house is spectacular - a real des res! I loved the flower fairies when I was little, too!

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  22. You just keep rocking those 3D shadow boxes!!! Beautiful!!!

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  23. Indeed...Mary was wonderful and her art lives on in all we fairy lovers! I swooned over the photo of the fairy house in the garden...how sweet was that! Love your blog and I will be back...;-)
    Janet xox
    The Empty Nest

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  24. Your shadow box is gorgeous. Fairies in the garden, a wonderful wish that just might come true.

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  25. I had so much fun with my tags for E's swap and I absolutely adore the tags you made. That alarm clock image is so cute!

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  26. Julie amor, another beautiful shadow box! This one is gorgeous! I love the theme you chose...my favorite picture is the lil bebe girl with the bird on the leftside :) You create such beauties :) I think your mama having a fairy garden is awsome, my aunt did that, and there were tiny lil frogs that lived in her garden...we used to chase them around and try to catch them because she told us, if we saw a froggy with a fairy on it's back and caught it..we would have good luck all day and get a surprise from her :) We always looked but never found them, but spent some wonderful hours on our tummys searching for them :)lol Thank you for reminding me of this memory :) Have a beautiful day & week! Besos, Rose

    ps...amor I loved your visit thank you :) I wish that was my lovely give away :) But it is Shellagh's of Ticking and Toile, I hope you enter, it looks like a wonderful book! :)

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  27. Ohh I almost forgot, I took love the flower fairies, incl. my daughters...we have them all over the house in one way or another :) Besos, Rose

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  28. Wonderful wonderful blog...and isn't it great ..THREE DAUGHTERS...like you I have three beautiful little girls..well,little..they now are..23,25,and 28!! How time flies:))

    Hug from all of us..
    T D and Company.

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  29. Julie,

    This post was absolutely divine. I so love fairies and have my very own "Pink Fairy Cottage" to prove it! lol Absolutely can't get over the beautiful fairy paintings and the pictures of the children in front on that magical fairy cottage. Wow, just dreamy and so lovely. Thank you for putting a huge smile on my face this Thursday morning.

    Have a great day.

    Cathy

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  30. Another gorgeous post Julie! I am so in love with that fairy house your mom made...I can see where you get your wonderful talents! Your daughters looks so sweet posing by the house! Your shadowbox frame card is just darling, so beautifully put together....Love those kitchen tags and that little bluebirdie too...what a great swap! xoxo Paulette

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