fantasy art and tree chatter of aquariann

I hope you're not tired of tulips yet! As if 15,055 tulips weren't enough for me at the 2016 Lewes Tulip Festival in Delaware, last weekend I went to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania to tiptoe around more than 240,000 tulips. It was raining when Ogre and I arrived, so first we explored the new blooms inside the conservatory since last time we visited during Longwood Gardens' Orchid Extravaganza . As soon as the sprinkles stopped, I power walked outside to the Flower Garden Walk. Not long after the sun broke through the clouds, I came across this beautiful bed of Darwin Hybrid Tulips named 'Lighting Sun." Featured Flower Picks: Yellow Hibiscus • Dandelion Clocks • Bleeding Heart Macro 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 shari...

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Azl Sy for submitting the randomly-chosen 311th entry. Life Is The Bubbles will email you with how to claim your prize. Please don't start a war with your fellow blog readers! Only one of you will win these Captain America earrings for free from Life is the Bubbles , but it'll be by luck and not force. The antique silver earrings include a Tesseract Cube (an energy-source for world domination), a round Vibranium shield (Cap's primary weapon) and a motorcycle (Steve's ride). I was super excited to discover Brandy and Kathy's new Marvel Comics jewelry during their last giveaway. And now they're giving away a Steve Rogers prize to celebrate the release of the new "Captain America: Civil War" movie on May 6! And they're not the only ones. The film coincides with the launch of my online comic shop, so my husband are I are giving away a Captain America Hot Wheels car . Enter each giveaway to get ...

Happy Earth Day! How nice that the holiday falls on Flower Friday this year. If you live near southern Delaware, I recommend visiting Garden Shack Farm at 19884 Beaver Dam Rd. in Lewes to buy pretty flowers to plant for the occasion. The owner, Laura Kucharik, was kind enough to let me stalk her greenhouses with my camera last weekend. The first perennial plant I am sharing are her creeping phlox flowers , aptly named "Purple Beauty." Not only is the photo available on spring home decor products through my Fine Art America shop, but Ogre and I are going to use it to experiment with making tile coasters! We plan to offer a coaster series of her flowers exclusively at Garden Shack Farm. Featured Flower Picks: First Spring Flowers • Purple Ruffled Petals • Anemone Blanda Macro 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...

I've been using Jamberry nail wraps instead of nail polish almost every two weeks for more than two years, and have yet to finish a full sheet. I just can't turn my tail feathers to trying different designs. Thus why I've flown to Amazon to buy retired half sheets instead! This week I preened my nails to apply Jamberry's Peacock nail stickers with ombre accent nail design, Atlantis . 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. Pretty Peacock Nail Art Finds:

Getting déjà vu? You may recall from 2014 when my mom's birthday fell on Wordless Wednesday and I photographed the white daffodils in her yard. This year I colorized the stems so it'd better match her decor and ordered my first flower pillow from Fine Art America as a birthday gift! I love that Fine Art America offers the option to buy their throw pillows with or without an insert. I've had a 16" x 16" pillow insert that I bought ten years ago with the intention of making my own fabric cover, but never took the time to learn how to sew. Thus I saved $6 and ordered just the zippered case. I'm quite impressed with the 100% cotton fabric the photo is printed upon on both sides. It's thick enough that I would have called it canvas if I came across it in a store. Of course, I'm no interior designer. But I am excited to design more pillows featuring my flower photography and drawings. Featured Flower Picks: Garden Macro • White Wisteri...

EDIT: Giveaway is officially over. Congratulations to Angelica Cassandra Dimeo for submitting the randomly-chosen 206th entry. Please check your email for instructions on how to claim your prize. April showers may bring you a White Rabbit necklace! Follow me down the Rain Rain Go Away Giveaway Hop, where I picked a piece of my mom's handmade jewelry as the prize. She embellished a pocket watch charm with gold paint, rhinestones, red glitter and a heart-shaped bead. The 1.5" circular pendant is strung on a matching antique bronze tone chain that measures approximately 16 inches that closes with a lobster clasp. Don't cry a river like Alice because only one of my readers will win this one-of-a-kind necklace! If we get flooded with comments, mom will make more Alice in Wonderland jewelry to list in my Etsy shop. Now quick, don't be late for a very important date! Grab your chances to win and then run to 100+ wonderful bloggers also giving away prizes in the Rain Rai...

The white pear blossoms I shared last Flower Friday weren't the only beautiful blooms I admired on Olive Avenue in Rehoboth Beach the first weekend of spring. I also wandered across my very first camellia flowers to photograph! The beautiful bush towered so high above me that I felt like Alice in Wonderland after she drank the shrinking potion. But the card minions won't have to worry about painting this "Rose of Winter" red for the Queen - their perfect petals are among the reddest I've ever seen! Featured Flower Picks: Pastel Tulips • Wonderland of Roses • Pink Magnolia Tree 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 li...

Don't worry, no blossoms were harmed in the taking of this photo! I was very careful when posing with the flowering pear tree, thus why the angle of the actual nail art isn't as flattering and you can see the tips of my naked nails. Jamberry Nails retired their Black Decorative design so long ago that it's not even available on Amazon, but my accent nail, Black Floral , is being sold as a half sheet of nail wraps, which does at least two full manicures. Or if you're just a fan of tree blossoms , you can order a pretty flower photo on several products without my hand marring the tree on my Fine Art America shop . I ordered a pink cherry blossoms pillow to take to art shows as an example and can't wait to see the throw pillow in person. 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. Black Floral Nail Art Finds: ...

The following sites not only offer a fortune of free giveaways to enter - they also accept giveaway submissions for free! They've been a wild berry flavored gummy lifesaver in promoting the jewelry giveaways I host. The first time I attempted a giveaway of my own, I barely enticed a dozen participants from my efforts on Facebook, Twitter and the Etsy forums. Now the giveaways I'm hosting for other shops are receiving hundreds of entries each. Giveaway Sites Several of these require joining to submit your own giveaway promotions, but they're all free! Contest Chest is a treasure chest of contests for you to win. Contest Girl is one of the world's largest directories of online sweepstakes and contests. Contest Listing is a list of the best contests, sweepstakes and giveaways in US and Canada. Giveaway Chest is a treasure map of prizes to plunder. Giveaway Junkie is an addictive way to find giveaways. Giveaway Monkey is your source of international giveaw...

Unlike the pink cherry tree I shared last week, the flowering pear trees waited for spring to officially arrive before blooming. Momma and I didn't last long walking the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk with the wild weekend wind, but my camera did get to catch beautiful buds blooming on the side street where we parked. This bundle of white pear blossoms was my favorite. Featured Flower Picks: Anemone Blanda 'White Splendour' • Ranunculus • Striped Orchid 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, please add it to m...