fantasy art and tree chatter of aquariann

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Danielle Lima for submitting the randomly chosen 944th entry. Old acquaintances and days of long ago should certainly not be forgotten! How will you be revering the past and rejoicing for the future? Mary Ellen of Bunny Burrow Boutique is celebrating the new year by giving away a $25 gift card to her Etsy shop. The winner could spend it on her handmade jewelry OR a piece of vintage jewelry like the costume pearl necklace above. Mary Ellen uses a variety of unique beads to make her charming jewelry. It's amazing how many diverse rabbit beads she finds! If you see a design you want, it's best to snatch it up before it hops away forever. You'll feel warm and fuzzy inside while doing so - she's offering 20% off if you use coupon code "AQUARIANNROCKS20" during checkout before February 28, 2013. <a href="http://blog.aquariann.com/2012/12/rabbit-jewelry-giveaway-gift-card.html" target="...

Christmas came early for me - Santa's elves delivered a present all the way from Switzerland! Receiving packages is always exciting, but getting them from foreign countries fascinates me. The paper envelopes even feel exotic. Inside was an appetizer of two chocolates by Lindt & Sprüngli, Maître Chocolatier Suisse Depuis 1845 or as most Americans are used to seeing it, Lindt , Master Swiss Chocolatier since 1845. The main course was a pretty painted pendant! I lose myself in the depths of the shimmery green rectangle - don't you? Olya of oBo Creations has a unique technique for painting her handmade jewelry. She uses special materials and careful mixing to create her "dragon skin" (now you know why I was so drawn to it :) effect. The colors swirl together in such an unpredictable fashion that the final pattern is always a surprise! I twirl happily every time I wear this one of a kind antique bronze filigree pendant. Disclaimer: I received the filigree painte...

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." - Norman Vincent Peale Last Christmas, Ogre and I started a tradition of only giving each other stocking stuffers, mostly bought from the dollar store. That way we only spend $10 and still have several fun gifts to unwrap. However, not all of them quite fit in the Christmas stockings. The shelf he hung to cover up where last year's removable hooks tore off a piece of our wall really came in handy! I'm quite proud of our simple Christmas mantel. The "i believe in Santa" sign and red glass candle holders are presents from Christmas pasts. The swirly frame above is a clock that my mom helped me cover with my Moon Fairy print . 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!

Whether December brings snow to Delaware or not, I always hope to get hit with a brainstorm of affordable gift ideas for coworkers. Last year I gave away over 30 tiny magnets of my hot chocolate fairy paired with a fun flavored hot cocoa packet of choice. Since everyone's an individual, I try to find holiday presents that can be customized to different tastes. This year I personalized Christmas ornaments by decorating felt trees I practically stole from Target during last year's 90% off after-Christmas sale. Supplies: 1. Felt Trees (If you can't find whimsical art nouveau designs like I did, go one handmade step further and cut your own tree shapes out of felt! The Crafted blog offers a free DIY Tree Pattern to get you started.) 2. Self Adhesive Rhinestones (Knowing how much I love shiny things and dislike gloop, can you believe I just discovered these this year? I was planning to use hot glue to embellish the trees with bling, but this was so much easier - perh...

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall." - Larry Wilde If you are anywhere near Brookgreen Gardens (just south of Myrtle Beach, SC) next weekend, you must attend their last Nights of a Thousand Candles event of the 2012 holiday season. The 5,500 hand-lit candles and countless lights are spectacularly sparkly. 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!

EDIT: The Autumn 2012 Zombie Blog Hop Linky may be closed, but don't let that stop you from blogging about zombies and sharing it by commenting on this post. Or you can stagger over to my current blog hop . For my seasonal hop this autumn, I challenge my fellow bloggers to dig into their brains and claw out zombie posts. You can paint, craft or bake new creations to share, or feature your favorite zombie-inspired items by other artists. It is entirely up to you how you wish to celebrate the horror theme; just have fun staggering around! Zombie Blog Posts Zombie and the Brain Drawing The Unsquished Return of the Birthday Zombie Zombie Bunny Rabbit

"All aboard! All aboard! Tickets please, tickets Well, you coming? It’s a magic carpet on a rail Never takes a rest Flying through the mountains and the snow" - The Polar Express 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!

While some people are tracking birds that are flying south for the winter, Milena of 7PM Boutique is tracking her handcrafted jewelry. One of her dreams is to travel around the world, but she unfortunately can't afford those trip costs yet. Instead she is living vicariously through her customers. Every time a piece ships to another country, she marks a map that hangs in her workroom and daydreams about the adventures it'll have. I wonder if her beautiful butterfly necklace to the right will migrate across the sea? I also wondered how Milena chose the name for her Etsy shop, so she told me. "First of all, the number seven is very sacred to many traditions. In some cultures, it is thought to combine the four magical elements on the planet (Air, Fire, Water, and Earth) and the three points that represent the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). Apart from that, there are seven colors in a rainbow, seven chakras of the body, the seven days of the week. And last, but not l...

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Leslie Luke Stanziani for submitting the randomly chosen 742nd entry. Anyone else planning a Lord of the Rings trilogy marathon in anticipation of The Hobbit 2012 movie release? Marcia of Lefty's ArtWear is celebrating by giving away the above metal pendant, inspired by The Return of the King, to one lucky JRR Tolkien fan. Two connected textured rings dangle from chainmaille rings to create the center focal point. A hammered black scale maille charm was added to the bottom because of its shield shape, then embellished with a small washer. Marcia uses a large variety of tools, along with metal, hardware, wire, vintage treasures, leather and as much recycled material as she can find to handcraft her unique jewelry. Half the fun of browsing her handmade shop is figuring out what type of material she used to create such a bold look. Marcia may be left-handed, but she's bound to have a jewelry piece that's just "R...

"There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!" - Percy Bysshe Shelley 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!

December is off to an unseasonably warm start in Delaware, but I'm not complaining! Living vicariously through Rosity of Pillows Galore N More 's cool collection is enough for me. Blue gift ideas from the Saturday Night Specials Etsy team include a turquoise stacking ring, peace crane decoration and my ice fairy ornament . Treasuries shared by readers between December 4 - December 10 Blue Ice Snow White Winter Christmas Delicate Tis the Season Happy December! Let's Dance with Joy!! Golden Holiday Deck the Tree For Charity Beads, Baubles and Blooms Color For The Holidays Wish List Blue Christmas Gifts for Everyone on Your List Winter Solstice, the Longest Night

Ogre and I are in the holiday spirit earlier than usual - we even put our Christmas tree up before December. Granted, we finished decorating it a mere hour before midnight struck on the 1st, but it still counts! Receiving an early gift from Jacqui of Daisy-Doo certainly sparked the spirit this year. These crystal Christmas tree earrings are an elegant addition to my holiday jewelry collection. They are a tasteful alternative to the more garish festive earrings that usually abound at Christmas parties! Each Christmas tree is strung with 5 Swarovski crystals - Siam Red for the base and top with Peridot green for the tree branches. The height of each tree is approximately 3cm and the width is 1cm. And oooh, how they sparkle and shine so brightly!