Holiday Fairy Garden

 I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!  We had warm weather here in Northern Illinois.  It certainly made the travelling less stressful.  Not the "White Christmas" that we sing about, but a few evening snow showers on the way home brought some smiles.  All the relatives are healthy and happy... What more can one ask for?   I absolutely LOVE this time of year!  :)

The Christmas holiday for me has always centered on the reason for my nativity being displayed and  spending time with loved ones... not so much the gift giving.  In fact, my only shopping  was for Farmer boy and his fiancé... Okay, a few for Mr. Hollow too!   It is funny, since I absolutely loved working in retail and enjoy finding gifts that hopefully will make the recipient smile.  While finding their presents, it is well known that I shop for my "gifts" as well for under the tree.  Trust me, this is NOT a bad thing.  They don't even require wrapping! LOL  Although my want list is really short, I usually have a few dream items I fulfill for the holiday.  Yes... I could buy them during the year, but Christmas has always been a time for me to do some self reflection.  The season is a time of looking forward to the coming year and realizing what frivolous or useful items will help realize some of my new resolutions.  I am very excited about a few of my items and will share them over the next month, but this post is about an unexpected gift from the newest member of our family... my soon to be in 2016 daughter-in-law... The gift of a charming fairy garden. 

Instead of buying a premade garden, she made this little scene for me.  I pride myself on being hard to buy for, but this little forest is absolutely perfect for me. :)  It is green, rustic and contains a rendition of two little critters that make me laugh to watch in nature through out the year... Squirrels!  Look at the little squirrel on the front of the log whistling as he prances across.  It makes me smile every time I glance his way.  Very symbolic of the carefree nature of the animal in the wild. LOL  And of course there are two of them!  Trouble will always run in pairs. ;)

I had to show this overhead shot.  There is a moss base in the front and back.  Hopefully, I can find a way to keep the moss healthy... Yikes!  In between the moss is a little path of tiny pebbles.

To the back of the garden, there is a wee trellis.  A tiny little vine is climbing it.

Look at the pot... orange, my favorite color!  It is such a lovely and inspiring little garden -- right out of the pages of Beatrix Potter.    Makes me wish that I had a large well lit studio area to keep it in.  *sigh*  But for or right now, I believe that the best spot is in my work area to the front of the house.  That particular work area is where I do most of my writing and idea formulating.  It will be a little magical garden of ideas... Especially, when the days DO decide to become wintry!  :)

A Gift from ImagiMeri's Studio

Where did November go?  The time is flying by so fast, and I have so much to share.  I wanted to begin with this spectacular gift that I received from Meri of ImagiMeri's Studio.  (Click on her site name to visit her blog!)   She is a wonderful contributing artist of the Creative Paperclay site.  (You can enjoy one of her tutorials on their site by clicking here.)    Meri took part in a blog hop promoting Gina Designs laser cut outs.  She made three enchanting Halloween scenes and gave them away to three lucky Creative Paperclay followers!

 

 

As if I wasn't excited enough to be gifted one of her detailed creations, Meri also surprised me with a goodie bag! 

Meri generously gave me enough supplies to inspire a Halloween creation of my own.  I cannot express to her enough how happy I was to receive both gifts.  She is such a generous artist, not only with her giveaways but with the immense amount of time she spends making tutorials.  As a fellow blogger, I know how long it can take to create a regular post.  I cannot imagine how long she must spend in preparation to share her knowledge on the use of paper clay creations in step by step fashion.

Meri's gift has given me the push to get me off the couch and back to rummaging through my potential Paperclay projects.  Following the arrival of my Spooky Graveyard with that darling little bat bouncing around, I spent a glorious day organizing gourds and accessories in my storage room.    All of them have been waiting patiently for me to get by rear end in gear and get them turned into the little characters they were destined to be.  I am thinking with all of these spooky doo dads, a Halloween creation is in my future!  :)

I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason.  I was so blessed to receive one of Meri's creations.  It will be displayed proudly in my curio cabinet, and I will think of her as I begin shaping a few new creations out of gourds and paper clay.  Please check out the Paperclay website above.  These artists have a wealth of info on the subject that they generously share.  Also, check out ImagiMeri's website and take a trip over to her Etsy store here.  Meri's creations capture the holidays in such a nostalgic fashion.  They are absolutely delightful. 

Thanks again Meri!  :)