fantasy art and tree chatter of aquariann

Every Wednesday night during the summer, Milton offers free concerts in Memorial Park. Last week, my friend Erin Ann Martin sponsored the band. (If you ever plan to move to Delaware, you should hire her as your realtor because she is one of the sweetest, hardest-working women I know.) Wanting to support her motivated me to actually walk down to see 33 1/3 play, instead of curling up on my couch after work. Of course, I got distracted by taking flower photos along the way and was fashionably late. I was especially taken with the colorful zinnias in front of a historic house. Featured Flower Picks: Water Lily • Pink Roses • Bumble Bee on Blossom How To Plant Your Own Post for Flower Friday: The only rule to play is that you can only add one link per week! The post doesn't even have to mention flowers, but only ones that do will be eligible for being picked as a feature next week. I will be sharing my flower image on other blog hops, namely Wordless Wednesday , and...

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Tina Ivanisevic for submitting the randomly-chosen 471st entry. You will be emailed with instructions on how to claim your prize soon. The sea seems to stretch on forever, but I had no idea how big Renae's sunset necklace of the Pacific ocean was until it washed ashore into my jewelry collection on the east coast. Sure, the description of the oval pendant listing in her Mademoiselle Mermaid shop clearly read "approximately 40 x 30 mm" but I've never been good at visualizing measurements. Staring into her vibrant Santa Monica beach photograph, I could almost hear the waves crashing and the mermaids splashing. I was so impressed with the quality of her photo pendants that I asked her to make a limited edition jewelry run using my American mermaid art . Not only did she accept my offer, but together we are giving away the first mermaid necklace to celebrate the 4th of July! One lucky mermaid fan will win my pa...

I used the flower photo above as a reference to draw my blue hydrangeas art for the first week of the Summer of Color challenge. The hydrangea bush outside my office is rather remarkable to watch bloom - it starts out with baby blue and yellow ombre flower clusters that eventually brighten to purple. Featured Flower Picks: Ombre Flowers • Red Poppies • Late Bloomer How To Plant Your Own Post for Flower Friday: The only rule to play is that you can only add one link per week! The post doesn't even have to mention flowers, but only ones that do will be eligible for being picked as a feature next week. I will be sharing my flower image on other blog hops, namely Wordless Wednesday , and welcome all family-friendly links from fellow bloggers. Crafters can even link up an Etsy listing or other shop product! But if you want to promote a prize, I suggest adding it to my Giveaway Chest Linky instead to entice more treasure hunters. Please follow my blog through any of ...

The Summer of Color is back and I finished the first art challenge with mere minutes to spare! This year the theme is Color By Number. Each week, Kristin of Twinkle, Twinkle will provide a generic palette of 2 of one color and 1 of another. Then the participants get to choose which shade of each color to use. Week One was two blues and a green, so I chose Deco Blue, True Blue and Spring Green. I also used White to lighten the blue hydrangea flower petals and Grass Green to darken the leaf background. Blue hydrangea drawing is colored with Prismacolor pencils onto ACEO cut Strathmore Smooth Bristol Paper . Colored pencil art is also linked at Sunday Sketches .

Remember the yellow Asiatic lily Ogre planted in a pot for me back in 2013? Last year it multiplied into several yellow lilies ... and this year I captured a photograph of the first one just starting to bloom after a huge rain storm! Featured Flower Picks: Pink Hibiscus • Pink Peonies • Passion Flower How To Plant Your Own Post for Flower Friday: The only rule to play is that you can only add one link per week! The post doesn't even have to mention flowers, but only ones that do will be eligible for being picked as a feature next week. I will be sharing my flower image on other blog hops, namely Wordless Wednesday , and welcome all family-friendly links from fellow bloggers. Crafters can even link up an Etsy listing or other shop product! But if you want to promote a prize, I suggest adding it to my Giveaway Chest Linky instead to entice more treasure hunters. Please follow my blog through any of the social media icons in the upper right sidebar to receive a r...

Although last week's rain lasted a little longer than I would have liked, it poured life back into the plants. The world is bursting with color and Arleen of A Rexrode Creations managed to manifest its magic. Her handmade gift ideas from Etsy include purple dragonfly suncatcher by Stained Glass Whimsy, crystal hummingbird suncatcher by Bay Creations and my butterfly fairy print .

I possess several magic bottles filled with glitter and happy thoughts, thanks to the Life is the Bubbles shop! My favorite, of course, is a pixie dust necklace with a tinkling bell charm inspired by Tinkerbell. For as J.M. Barrie wrote in his Peter Pan novel, "All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust." Clap your hands if you believe you could win a magical necklace, too! Don't let your chance die. Fly straight on to enter Life is the Bubbles' Jewelry Giveaway before June 10, 2015. Disclaimer: I received this free necklace as a thank you gift for hosting a jewelry giveaway. If you think your creations would harmonize with my whimsical ramblings, learn how to sponsor a giveaway here .

Last Friday I changed my Facebook profile picture to show off the stunning snowball bush that towered over me at the Williamsburg Botanical Garden. The garden itself was small, but its flowers left a huge impact. I spent several minutes admiring the peony flowers, especially the pink 'Seashell' variety above. Featured Flower Picks: Pink Tulips • Yellow Iris • Bougainvillea Bush How To Plant Your Own Post for Flower Friday: The only rule to play is that you can only add one link per week! The post doesn't even have to mention flowers, but only ones that do will be eligible for being picked as a feature next week. I will be sharing my flower image on other blog hops, namely Wordless Wednesday , and welcome all family-friendly links from fellow bloggers. Crafters can even link up an Etsy listing or other shop product! But if you want to promote a prize, I suggest adding it to my Giveaway Chest Linky instead to entice more treasure hunters. Please follow my...

Can you believe I ordered Jamberry's Vintage Chic design last June and just applied it for the first time? If I would have saved the wraps any longer, they could have truly been considered antiques! I paired the dainty floral nail art with a Mint Green & Gold Stripe accent nail for some subtle shine. Want to be a guest blogger for my Manicure Monday when I don't have new nails of my own to show off? Please fill out the form on my contact page if you're interested in a free feature. Vintage Floral Nail Art Finds: