fantasy art and tree chatter of aquariann

Are you worried that walking your Valentine's Day bouquet from the car to the house will make the blooms shrivel from the frigid weather? Add handmade roses to your gift wishlist instead and you won't have to watch them wither away. Whether made from silk or leather, flowers will stay beautiful even on the coldest of days. Today I took a stroll through the fabricated florists of Etsy in search of red rose hair accessories. Trying to pick my favorite flower to wear on a romantic date was a daunting duty. There are fields upon fields of pretty options, from hair slide barrettes to bridal crowns to vintage hair jewelry. 1. Red Rose Leather Hair Slide With Deep Green Leaves by Beadmask 2. Red Rose and Burgundy Berry Hair Floral Crown Wreath by Pretty Little Titch 3. Red Rose Woodland Hair Pins by Mermaiden Creations 4. Dark Red Rose Flower Art Nouveau Antiqued Brass Filigree Hair Comb by Marolsha Disclaimer: This post was inspired by Beadmask , a wonderful blog spo...

"Beauty, like ice, our footing does betray; Who can tread sure on the smooth, slippery way: Pleased with the surface, we glide swiftly on, And see the dangers that we cannot shun." - John Dryden The temperature in southern Delaware usually doesn't stay below freezing long enough for big puddles to freeze, let alone large bodies of water. Although I'm not fond of frigid weather, the effects can be stunning, such as snow sitting upon Wagamons Pond in Milton during a winter sunset. 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: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Catarina Correia for submitting the randomly-chosen 1295th entry. Ever felt unlucky in love or life? Now's your chance to turn it around and win a $25 gift card to HandeMadeIt , an evil eye jewelry store in Istanbul. The winner can choose from a throng of Turkish evil eye designs, including the blue heart bracelet above. Or if you don't believe in good luck amulets, try your hand at the other fun hippie-style accessories, ethnic necklaces and fashion earrings available. All jewelry is made by Hande Uckaleler, hence the cute name of her Etsy shop. She even offers wholesale prices for those fashionistas that want to stack several of her beautiful bracelets. <a href="http://blog.aquariann.com/2014/01/giveaway-jewelry-evil-eye-heart-bracelets.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee329/aquariann/blog/giveaways/125x125-handemadeit.jpg" alt="Jewelry ...

I wouldn't want to play croquet with the Queen of Hearts, but I can't deny she has a mean fashion style! Of course, she doesn't have to worry about price when choosing an outfit - she just threatens to behead everyone until she gets the fancy finery she wants. If you want to dress like the queen without murdering your morality or spending a fortune, follow me down the rabbit hole to a Wonderland of handmade options on Etsy. From fantasy crowns to magic wands, accessorizing a unique costume fit for a queen is no longer just a daydream for girls like Alice. 1. Queen of Hearts Costume Bra by Just Lust 2. Queen of Hearts Crown for Halloween Costume by Lil’ Luxe 3. Queen of Hearts Tutu by Tiara's Boutique 4. Queen of Hearts Magical Staff Necklace by Life is the Bubbles Disclaimer: This post was inspired by Life is the Bubbles , a wonderful blog sponsor that pays for advertising space and featured listings like above. If you think your items would fit in with...

"The artist must bow to the monster of his own imagination." - Richard Wright As if my toes weren't scary enough ... now they have cute little monsters to fend off ticklers! Jamberry consultant , Kimberly of Kiss My Tips, sent me adorable junior-size sample nail wraps to decorate my toenails. It's the first time I've used anything other than nail polish on my nails, so the shields aren't placed perfectly ... but they were super easy to apply, so I can't wait to get my hands on more! Lurk around my blog and pounce on your chance to win a full sheet of Jamberry Nail Shields for free - Kiss My Tips' Valentine's Day Giveaway is stalking strong until January 30, 2014. 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!

I had a love/hate relationship while coloring my lady bug art, but we finally came to a compromise. I had too much of a heavy hand while coloring the black shell and heart spots so the detail in the line art was lost. However, I think the bolder shapes will reproduce better when I shrink it for the pendants my mom wants to make. Plus, I have the original ink illustration available as a unique digital stamp on Etsy. I hope paper crafters will be enticed to buy the Art Nouveau design for Valentine's Day - I'd love to see how other creative souls would add color. Lady bug drawing is inked with black Sakura Pigma Micron Pens and colored with Prismacolor pencils onto ACEO cut Strathmore Smooth Bristol Paper . Colored pencil art is linked at Sunday Sketches .

"Sharks have everything a scientist dreams of. They're beautiful―God, how beautiful they are! They're like an impossibly perfect piece of machinery. They're as graceful as any bird. They're as mysterious as any animal on earth. No one knows for sure how long they live or what impulses―except for hunger―they respond to. There are more than two hundred and fifty species of shark, and every one is different from every other one." - Peter Benchley I may live only a few miles from the Dogfish Head Brewery , but it wasn't until I traveled all the way to the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island that I saw a real dogfish shark in person. 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: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to LaFrench Grimes for submitting the randomly-chosen 2085th entry. Planning to hold hands with your date this Valentine's Day? Capture your heart's desire with lovely nail shields by Jamberry. Jamberry consultant , Kimberly of Kiss My Tips, is giving one lucky lady her choice of Valentine's nail wraps for free. The winner may choose one sheet from the collection of six adult-sized and two juniors-sized designs. I've been lusting over the nail art that Kimberly's been sharing on her facebook page for months and lunged at the chance to help her host a giveaway. She's a fellow Fantasy Artist of Etsy and adds a creative touch to everything she does. When I asked how she got involved with Jamberry, she replied, "Where nails are concerned, I just can't get polish to last more than a day before chipping on my finger nails! Because of this, my nails would be bare and I would often do fun and funky nail a...

The weather won't be warm enough to go barefoot at the beach for another few months. I don't have to wait that long to decorate my skin with henna style, though - look at the dahlia flower necklace that bloomed in my mailbox, despite the cold! According to the jewelry artist, Julia of Eternal Girl , flowers represent joy and happiness in henna tradition. Wearing her hand-drawn pendant certainly evokes those feelings for me. Her henna-inspired art is secured in an antique-styled, bronze pendant with a round glass covering and hangs from a bronze metal chain. Disclaimer: I received this free pendant as a thank you gift for hosting a jewelry giveaway. If you think your handmade creations would harmonize with my whimsical ramblings, learn how to sponsor a giveaway here .

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?" - J. B. Priestley Southern Delaware's fairy first few inches of snow of 2014 melted away over the weekend - but brrr, the temperature is even colder now! Everyone stay safe and warm during the wacky winter weather. 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!

If you haven't stopped by my blog during the last two holidays, I now host handmade shop hops where sellers can promote their listings as gift ideas to potential buyers. Valentine's Day is courting us next and I recently realized I don't have any lovely art to use for the sidebar button! So I was seduced into drawing a lady bug with hearts for spots and revisiting my adoration for Art Nouveau borders. Before coloring the sketch with Prismacolors, I plan to clean up the line art and offer it as a digital stamp on Etsy. Lady bug pencil sketch is inked with black Sakura Pigma Micron Pens onto ACEO sized Strathmore Smooth Bristol Paper . Valentine art is linked at Sunday Sketches .

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Laura Young for submitting the randomly-chosen 537th entry. With wind howling like a werewolf outside, winter is the perfect time to curl up with a captivating book. One lucky reader will be embraced by vampire stories without having to leave the warmth of home. Author Ian Hall is giving away signed paperback copies of his two books, A Connecticut Vampire in King Arthur's Court and Vampires Don't Cry: Blood Anthology. While waiting for the print books to arrive, the winner may also choose any three of Ian Hall's eBooks from Smashwords to suck dry. But first, sink your fangs into these summaries ... A Connecticut Vampire in King Arthur's Court : 21st century vampire Richard DeVere never intended to become a time traveler. When he is mysteriously catapulted back five hundred years into the dawn of the Tudor age, he suddenly finds himself in the reign of King Henry the Seventh. Despite the physical advantages affor...