fantasy art and tree chatter of aquariann

"Fairest of the months! Ripe summer's queen The hey-day of the year With robes that gleam with sunny sheen Sweet August doth appear." - R. Combe Miller Flutter to my Wordless Wednesday Directory for a list of blogs that regularly host WW Linky Parties. Grab my button as a reminder to return next week for more photography fun! <a href="http://blog.aquariann.com/search/label/wordless%20wednesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee329/aquariann/blog/wordless/125x125-wordless.jpg" alt="Wordless Wednesday" border="0" /></a>

EDIT: Giveaway is officially closed. Congratulations to Brenda Witherspoon for submitting the randomly chosen 178th entry. If summer is rushing by you, take a moment to stop and smell the roses. Or rather, pick the rose colors. Lindsay of Made By LinLin is giving away a prize pack of pretty rose accessories. One lucky lady will win 2 rose stud earrings , 2 bobby pins and 1 brass ring - in any color she chooses! Gaze upon all 24 available colors through Lindsay's rose color chart . The rainbow is so beautiful - I don't know how anyone could just pluck one! Judging by the 5,000+ sales in her Made By LinLin Etsy shop since November 2011, most customers can't just pick one piece of handmade jewelry from her studio in Vancouver, Canada. It helps that her prices are lower than many flowers grow to the ground! Making affordable, quality jewelry is very important to Lindsay. She is the happiest she's ever been, being able to design and create products for people of all ...

Better step into your dancing shoes, because National Dance Day 2012 is tomorrow, July 28th! I'm starting off the celebration by going out with my fellow belly dancers tonight. We're shimmying to a bar, so I'll be shaking the dance floor with my snazzy skull sneakers instead of barefoot like usual. Although belly dancing barefoot feels more authentic, I don't have the daintiest feet. Today I tip toed over to Etsy to see what sexy alternatives are available. Goddess style and barefoot sandals stood out amongst the red dance shoe search. The other two pairs spectacularly stomped into my memories, reminding me what fun I had as a child ballerina and tapper. 1. Leather Lace Up Sandals Candy Apple RED Metallic by Bella Caribe 2. Upturned Toe, Red Satin and Lace Cut Out Overlay Slippers, with Red Suede Soles, Ballet Ties by Uku 3. Decoupage Tap Shoes Capezio Mary Jane Red Crybaby Wet Look Size 61/2 7 by Normal Mix 4. Tatted Barefoot Sandals - Barefoot Heart by...

"For man, as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive." - D. H. Lawrence Flutter to my Wordless Wednesday Directory for a list of blogs that regularly host WW Linky Parties. Grab my button as a reminder to return next week for more photography fun! <a href="http://blog.aquariann.com/search/label/wordless%20wednesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee329/aquariann/blog/wordless/125x125-wordless.jpg" alt="Wordless Wednesday" border="0" /></a>

EDIT: Giveaway is officially closed. Congratulations to Rita Szlovencsák for submitting the randomly chosen 57th entry. Perhaps it's the hot weather and the drought in Delaware, but I have been daydreaming about being a mermaid. That's why I gleamed to discover the Etsy Blog's Mermaid Makeup Tutorial when looking through the list of articles where my new giveaway sponsor's products have shimmered. Madison Street Beauty has dozens of magnificent eye shadow colors that could enhance the sexy siren in any creature. One lucky winner will even get to choose five full size eye shadows, as well as a foundation, a setting powder and a blush or bronzer sample for free. Amethyst, an opaque vegan eyeshadow of medium purple, would be my first pick, fins down. Look at those sparkles! If choosing only five colors is too difficult, why not try some natural samples first? The owners, Bridget and Rhys, are currently celebrating their one year Etsyversary and offering an astonish...

If you haven't branched out to Four20moon Tie Dye , Beadmask and Viridian Muse yet, you are missing out on some excellent eye candy. My sponsors are definitely the sweetest sellers around. Four20moon Tie Dye Shop's cute cupcake shirt would make a one of a kind birthday gift for a friend with a sweet tooth. Cupcake design has been hand tied then dyed on the front of an Extra Large (46-48 inches around) lightweight Fruit of the Loom tag-less undershirt. Pink cupcake is topped with a fire red cherry and surrounded by stripes of baby pink, hot pink and brown shades. The back of the shirt has been left white. Beadmask's bead embroidered cabochon earrings are more decadent than the raspberry truffle dessert the design is named after. The vintage faceted glass cabochons are a deep red with an aurora borealis finish that flashes amber and blue when light dances across it. The stones are surrounded by glass seed beads in shades of bronze and red. At the base of each earring ...

"Orange is the happiest color." - Frank Sinatra Flutter to my Wordless Wednesday Directory for a list of blogs that regularly host WW Linky Parties. Grab my button as a reminder to return next week for more photography fun! <a href="http://blog.aquariann.com/search/label/wordless%20wednesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee329/aquariann/blog/wordless/125x125-wordless.jpg" alt="Wordless Wednesday" border="0" /></a>

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Brenda Elsner for submitting the randomly chosen 938th entry. Daisies in Delaware are in full bloom. But don't wilt away if there aren't any near you to pick and put behind your ear - Jenny of Spearmint and Thyme grows flower hair accessories in her Etsy shop all year long. She is even giving away four daisy hair pins to one lucky lady. The set was designed with an outdoor wedding in mind, but they can be worn to brighten up any day. The flowers are crafted from Mulberry paper, a form of rice paper made from the bark fibers of the Mulberry Tree. The material is so versatile and strong that it can even be used to make clothing. These silver plated hair pins may look delicate and feminine, but they are incredibly durable! Jenny's hair accessory garden is located in the heart of the English Countryside. She sculpts several types of flowers to attach to bobby pins, combs and crowns. From black roses to orange chrysanth...

The Summer of Color event has blinked by brightly. The last challenge is Watermelon Ice, a red fruit flavor with black chocolate chip "seeds." I am proud to have officially completed a piece each week, six weeks in a row. That is a new record for me. Sticking with the flower series helped to motivate me. As did all of your great comments, thanks for the support. I'm considering listing my art card garden on eBay, so email me at underwater at aquariann dot com if you're interested in plucking up an original first. $50 includes the shipping and a protective sports card sleeve. This week I used a Gerbera daisy picture as a reference. Daisy art is drawn entirely with Prismacolor pencils . I used Blush Pink, Carmine Red, Scarlet Lake and Black Cherry pencils to color the flower. The background swirls are colored with White, Warm Grey 30%, Warm Grey 50% and Black pencils. Drawing is on Strathmore Bristol Vellum Paper , hand cut to approximately 3.5" by 2.5", ...

Come dance the sizzling summer night away with the Fantasy Artists of Etsy exhibition ! The Etsy Mini below is just a shimmer of the masquerade masks, gothic jewelry and fantasy art awaiting your appearance. EDIT: Moonlight Masquerade has been replaced by another exhibition, but click on the screenshot below to view all the FAE items currently for sale that are tagged with the word "masquerade."

"God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest." - P. D. James Flutter to my Wordless Wednesday Directory for a list of blogs that regularly host WW Linky Parties. Grab my button as a reminder to return next week for more photography fun! <a href="http://blog.aquariann.com/search/label/wordless%20wednesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee329/aquariann/blog/wordless/125x125-wordless.jpg" alt="Wordless Wednesday" border="0" /></a>

The last time I attempted tie dye, I was at girl scout camp. Although I was silly proud of my simple swirly shirt and sock set at the time, it doesn't even compare to what Lila and Jason of Four20moon Tie Dye Shop can do with good vibes and bright dyes. The patterns they create by hand tying then dying are awesome. The skull and crossbones design commandeered my attention first, but other images range from bats to butterflies to even a cupcake! Traditional spirals, peace signs and smiley faces are also available. The cool couple met while drywall taping at the same company back in 2004. Being surrounded by so much white at their job motivated them to start tie dying work clothes to brighten up their lives. The colorful hobby quickly became a passion. Now they not only sell their wearable art on Etsy, they also donate it! 100% of the profit from every purchase in their Grateful Heads Charity section helps fund donations of colorful tie dye bandannas and caps to area cancer patie...

This week's Summer of Color theme is Wild 'N Reckless Sherbet, a vibrant party of green apple, blue raspberry, and fruit punch flavors. Two weeks ago Kimberly of Night Lily Design requested I draw a clematis. I happily gave in to her delicate demand when I saw this cool color scheme. I used a photograph of The President Clematis species as a reference. Its combination of deep blues and purples are so pretty - if I had a green thumb, I'd certainly try growing the vine in my back yard. For now, I'll just have to settle having one in my art card garden. Clematis flower art is drawn entirely with Prismacolor pencils . I used Bronze, Sand, Greyed Lavender, and Dahlia Purple pencils to color the stamen, and Cloud Blue, Parma Violet and Imperial Violet pencils to color the petals. The background swirls are colored with Deco Aqua, True Green, Periwinkle and Electric Blue pencils. A White pencil was used to blend together many of the colors. Drawing is on Strathmore Bris...

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Despina Vnt for submitting the randomly chosen 196th entry. Time flies on steampunk wings when you're having fun. Five years has flown by since Kitty of Faire Treasures opened her fantastical Etsy shop. To celebrate, she is giving one lucky vixen an Emily Elaine Lace Capelet in Black, as shown above. Two layers of black lace drape gracefully about the shoulders and tie at the front with ribbon. Wrap it around your waist instead and it instantly doubles as a bustle. Although this delicate capelet looks stunning when matched with a Victorian or Renaissance costume, it will also add a touch of elegance to many modern outfits, too. Faire Treasures is filled with costume clothes and jewelry that will make you the belle of the ball at any fantasy festival. Kitty designs a variety of accessories to embellish ensembles, from pirate hair jewels to pixie skirts to mini Medieval cloaks. <a href="http://blog.aquariann.com/...

"Ev'ry heart beats true 'neath the Red, White and Blue" - You're a Grand Old Flag by George M. Cohan Flutter to my Wordless Wednesday Directory for a list of blogs that regularly host WW Linky Parties. Grab my button as a reminder to return next week for more photography fun! <a href="http://blog.aquariann.com/search/label/wordless%20wednesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee329/aquariann/blog/wordless/125x125-wordless.jpg" alt="Wordless Wednesday" border="0" /></a>

When life hands you lemons ... make Strawberry Lemonade Punch color schemed artwork for the Summer of Color challenge! Due to a busy schedule (especially on Saturday, as I went to a friend's birthday lunch, came home to bake caramel banana cake with homemade honey-cinnamon frosting and then whisked the dessert away to a girl's night-in party), it took me a little longer than usual to complete this week's ice cream flavor theme. I drew a daffodil, a flower known for its sunny shades of yellow. I was originally going to strictly stick to the color palette and use different shades of pink for the background. But all that brightness begged for the contrast of a dark green. Daffodil flower art is drawn entirely with Prismacolor pencils . I've used White, Canary Yellow, Sand, Goldenrod and Bronze pencils to color the petals and Deco Pink, Pink and Dark Green pencils to color the swirly background. Drawing is on Strathmore Bristol Vellum Paper , hand cut to approximately...