fantasy art and tree chatter of aquariann

Coloring is usually my favorite part of the drawing process, but my appreciation for inking has grown since I decided to offer digital stamps. June from Threshold Paper Art also admires the power of black and white images. Her handmade greeting card ideas include abstract linocut note card by Echidna Art and Cards, Love Always hand-stamped card by Pretty Byrd Designs and my lady bug in love digistamp . Treasuries shared by readers between April 1 - April 7, 2014 Yellow & Blue Nature and Geometry Spring Ahead and Pay it Forward Birdcage Veil Spring Break at the Beach Spring has begun! Sunshine.. #113 Alphabet Treasury Challenge C Purple Mood B & W And... An Enchanting Night's Dream The grass is green right where you are... Give Me Freedom, Give Me Fire Fine and Dandy Going for Green All That Glitters Is Gold Purple and Lime

Jamberry's snakeskin nail art is still slithering along my fingernails, so I'm sharing my pedicure instead! I used the same Metallic Silver and White Fishnet accent from last week to embellish my big toenails. My little toenails are painted in alternating Madison Street Beauty nail lacquers, Platinum and Sonic Silver . The weather isn't nice enough to wear my shiny sandals outside yet, but it should be before I have to remove the Jamberry wraps - they last up to 4 weeks on toenails. My Jamberry party is just warming up and I'm only one nail wrap sale away from earning a free sheet! Jamberry Nails is still offering the Buy 3, Get One 1 deal, so if you want to take advantage, please find and select "Aquariann" in the list of names under party at checkout to help me reach my goal. Want to be a guest blogger for my Manicure Monday when I don't have new nails of my own to show off? Please contact me using the form on my contact page if you're int...

Insects will start swarming as soon as Spring stops behaving like Winter. Unless it's a butterfly or bee, I usually shriek and swat when a bug swoops too close to my face. Surprisingly, I squeal in excitement instead of alarm when I find beautiful beetle jewelry. I'd even be thrilled to have beetle bling hanging from my ears. More and more, I've been seeing real elytra beetle wings flutter up in my Etsy searches for handmade accessories. Isn't it amazing how nature can make something that stunningly shiny?! The man-made exotic beetle earrings I found are pretty spectacular, too. 1. Brass Khepera Scarab Bead Dangle Earrings by April Leino 2. Wooden Japanese Beetle Earrings by Studio AMF 3. Hammered Copper Arthropod Earrings by Artigiano Jewel Box 4. Iridescent Green Real Beetle Wing Dangle Earrings by Beadmask Disclaimer: This post was inspired by Beadmask , a wonderful blog sponsor that pays for advertising space and featured listings like above. If you...

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Mai Tran for submitting the randomly-chosen 210th entry. Considering how long winter weather has overstayed its welcome, I might actually be happy to see the first weed sprout in my lawn! If you're getting discouraged by waiting for nature to bloom, why not brighten up your wall decor with colorful designs in the meantime? Evgie is giving away an $80 gift card to winner's choice of their wall stickers website or nursery wall decals Etsy shop. The dandelion seeds sticker above is one of my favorite spring designs in the price range, despite how frustrating it is when just the stems pop back up after mowing. The delightful decal studio was started in 2010 by two illustrators, Evgie and Ev. They both loved drawing so much as children that they worked it into a profession as adults. After sketching out an idea with pencil and blank paper, they render their designs digitally for vinyl cutting. From swirling trees to playfu...

"I am the lizard king, I can do anything." - Celebration of the Lizard Lyrics by Jim Morrison This proud lady lizard was not what I was expecting to see after I read the basilisk name tag - my mind slithered to the giant reptile from Harry Potter, inspired by the King of Serpents legend. Speaking of snakes, did you see my snakeskin nail art yet? I'm hosting another Jamberry Nails party!

My koi fish nail polish strips finally swam away on day 14. Despite Sally Hansen's "lasts up to 10 days" claim, the scales were still barely chipped - but I just couldn't wait any longer to wear one of the sets I earned from my first Jamberry party. I ordered 10 designs, but Metallic Snakeskin was an easy first choice because it was Art of the Belly dance festival weekend! I thought it'd be fun to wear snakeskin nail art while watching several stunning dancers make snake arm movements. I also added Metallic Silver and White Fishnet as an accent on my ring finger nails. The shinier, the better when shimmying! Speaking of sparkle, Jamberry just released two exclusive MAMMA MIA! wraps that are only available for a limited time. My my, I couldn't resist already starting another party to get my hands on the Broadway design! Jamberry Nails is still offering the Buy 3, Get One 1 deal so don't delay. Please find and select "Aquariann" in the l...

As its website states, "Project Wonderful makes advertising awesome." All advertising through Project Wonderful is bought and sold using its "Infinite Auction" system. The advertiser that is willing to pay the most for a spot at that exact moment gets it, and only pays for the time to the nearest second that the ad remains in view before another advertiser outbids the first. The unique ad bidding system rules out impression and click fraud that is prevalent with so many other online advertising brokers, as the bidder can weigh results and cancel at any time. Pretty neat, hmm? After seeing many Project Wonderful ad spots sprinkled throughout my fantasy art and handmade craft web browsing, I decided to try it on my own blog in May 2010. I started with one button in the right hand column, but within a few weeks I received such interest that I added another 125x125 button, plus a 728x90 banner on the very bottom. Project Wonderful automatically splits each spot up in...

"Like a rose under the April snow I was always certain love would grow" - Evergreen Lyrics by Paul Williams I had hoped my beach grass macro would be my last snow photo of the year, but Mother Nature had other plans for St. Patrick's Day. The pine trees had the only green to be seen outside!

Guest Post by May Chiu of La Vie en May I love all holidays because it gives me an excuse to create some fun nail art, (not that I ever need one though). St. Patrick's Day is a day my friends and I take seriously. We throw on layers upon layers of green: shirts, necklaces, glasses, suspenders, the list goes on and on. Me being a nail fanatic, I just had to do something with my nails. This year, I decided to keep my nails simple. I used Essie's "First Timer", a beautiful pastel green, as a base coat and mixed my own green color for the 4-leaf clover stamp on a MASH plate . If you're wondering if you can mix nail polish like paint, the answer is yes! Great way to create your own colors, without having to buy more polishes. To make the clover stand out, I outlined the design in black. What do you guys think? How did you dress up your nails for St. Patrick's Day? Follow May: Bloglovin '| G+ | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest  |  WhatIWear May is ...

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Stephanie La Plante for submitting the randomly-chosen 75th entry. I wouldn't trade being an Aquarius or having amethyst as a birthstone for any other month, but I am still glad the earth has spun enough times on its axis to end February for the year. I've been counting down the days until the Spring Equinox since the week after my birthday! Are you ready to turn your attention to winning free jewelry instead of worrying about what to wear to withstand the weather? Russian Canadian artist Natalia Khon is giving away a wonderful wire-wrapped pendant from her handmade jewellery shop in Vancouver. Copper and brass metal wire winds around the focal amethyst imitation quartz bead. Faceted labradorite beads accent the one-of-a-kind design that measures 3" tall by 1.375" wide. Natalia's designs are not just accessories - they're wearable art. Her work always starts with a sketch. After several sketches, she ...

Despite the impression that my fair skin, reddish hair and married last name gives, I am not Irish. But sometimes even I forget I'm not - Ireland's culture, music and Celtic art enchants me! I've even changed my tune about Irish beer since I found green beer crafts on Etsy 104 Fridays ago - I've been enjoying stouts like Guinness more often. And who doesn't like dressing up in green on St. Patrick's Day? I have a rhinestone shamrock shirt that I accessorize with even more shiny jewelry. I haven't lost my touch for finding fabulous four-leaf clover necklaces in the fields of Etsy. As luck would have it, I spotted several of the same from my initial silver shamrock necklace search - plus a few more favorites below. 1. Fortuosity Necklace with 4 Leaf Clover Charm by Life is the Bubbles 2. Hand Stamped Charm Shamrock Necklace by Green Ribbon Gems 3. Luck O' The Irish - Pressed Shamrock Necklace in Silver by Flirt and Flutter Jewelry 4. Handma...

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic." - Adrienne Cook During the 7th Annual Milton St. Patrick's Day parade last weekend, a local garden club member handed my friend's toddler a beautiful white and green carnation, which he promptly tore the stem off. At least I was able to take a pretty picture of the petals after he lost interest!

March madness doesn't have anything to do with basketball in my mind - I prefer to dribble through Lewis Carroll's books instead. I was giddy to follow Jill from Bailiwick Studio down the rabbit hole. Her Alice in Wonderland gift ideas include Drink Me bottle pendant by Trash and Trinkets, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland playing cards by Gryphon Designs and my white rabbit art magnet . Treasuries shared by readers between March 4 - March 17, 2014 Rain Drops The Ritual Spring Finds #44 March #21 Sunshiny Day springtime I Love Orange Everything spring has to offer Wearing Green

My Jamberry Nails party went swimmingly well, thanks to my fashionista friends for supporting it! I placed my hostess order the night before I finally had to remove my first full set, #WhiteSkullsonBlackJN , on day 14 because the edges were peeling enough to pull out my hair when brushing it back thoughtlessly. Jamberry's nail wraps description reads "lasts up to two weeks on fingernails" but I didn't truly believe mine would last that long due to the amount of time I spend typing and washing my hands. Amazon.com Widgets To distract myself until the Jamberry nail art arrives, I decided to test out cute koi fish scale nail polish strips from the Sally Hansen Salon Effects line. Again, I was surprised how easy they were to apply - how did it take me so long to try anything other than polish on my nails?! All I had to do was peel, press and trim the strip that best matched the size of each fingernail. Lucky for me, 5 out of the 8 sizes included fit my nail plates ...

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Kat Klahn for submitting the randomly-chosen 210th entry. Fashion trends have constantly evolved, ever since humans began embellishing their bodies. I love that we live in a time where we can take fads that were allegedly extinct, and rejuvenate them with a breath of modern air. Inspiration from nature never goes out of style, though - and neither does winning free jewelry! Daniela of Rica Jewels is giving away an awesome ammonite ring to one winner. The natural fossil is encased in sterling silver and measures 0.75" long and 0.55" wide. The handmade ring adjusts to fit size 6-8. Daniela's father owned a fashion business his entire life. He passed away when she was young, but his legacy lives in her creations and sweet soul. Her outlook is truly uplifting. She confides, "I design with a lot of passion and hopefully, people can wear and feel my pieces and understand how life is truly a blessing. I believe eve...

"Winter lingered so long in the lap of Spring that it occasioned a great deal of talk." - Bill Nye Now that the vernal equinox is only a couple weeks away, I'd be chill if yesterday's snow storm was the last opportunity to take literally cool macro photos of nature until Christmas.

Guest Post by Kimberly Carman of Kiss My Tips I've got major cabin fever here in Colorado as we've finally reached the time of year where Mother Nature teases us with a day or two of springlike beauty and then drops us back into a deep freeze to remind us that we have a while to wait. Since I can't climb my favorite hiking trails, sun myself while picnicking in the park or take a dip in the pool, I've taken the edge off with some Spring nail designs. Discontinued style 'Preppy Plaid' #PreppyPlaidJN accented with 'Lavender Sparkle' #LavenderSparkleJN by Jamberry Nails keeps reminding me that warmer days will be here again! I am especially fond of the preppy plaid and sad to see it leave because it is nearly identical in color and pattern to a pair of beloved plaid shorts my mother gave me when I was probably 8 or 9 years old! I loved those shorts to pieces - probably literally - and I've never found anything quite like them in all the years sinc...

Tracy Falbe's new book, Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale, has plenty of bite. She's even taking a chunk out of the price for readers that purchase before March 31, 2014, just use code WLT25 during checkout at Brave Luck Books to save 25% off the $3.99 eBook or code CU9KJ3E3 during checkout at Amazon's createspace to save 20% off the $12.99 trade paperback book. Sink your teeth into a free taste by reading the summary and first four chapters of the historical paranormal romance novel at Slideshare . But don't scamper off before you read her fascinating guest post below! Humanity’s Love of Handcrafting by Tracy Falbe Our modern craft stores might be puzzling to people from earlier eras. These shops are full of kits and supplies for all manner of projects. They serve a market of people hungry to make something with their hands. Our ancestors might wonder at this craving because once upon a time almost everyone made things with their hands all the time. Whet...