Rapunzel Marionette Show

A Summer's Fairy Garden Party took place recently in our yard with much gala affair!! We produced this production...sit back, relax, and enjoy!!

Giraffe-Schmiraffe

Needlefelting a Giraffe

I was asked to needlefelt a giraffe for a girlfriend's son. He loves giraffes and, she wanted to surprise him with something really special. I agreed but had never made such a structure before so, I felt a bit unsure yet was glad for the challenge...or so I thought.

I started out with the natural, cotton pipecleaners and began wrapping with wool as the pic shows above.

Then,
I continued wrapping the white wool and realized I had better look at pictures of giraffes so I could continue to sculpt the correct physique. I did make sure that my girlfriend was fine with a bit of artistic interpretation...she was so I knew if it look a bit askew, I could pass this off as my artistic flair :)
After some time, I was ready for giraffe type colors and began to layer yellows and oranges with some Peace Fleece and Child's Dream Come True wool.
As time continued to pass and I continued to rely on pics of giraffes, it grew more life-like with additions such as horns, felt ears, glass bead eyes until...


...Walla, it was finished. Now all told, this project took me sixty-five hours...YES the big 65...and I was burned out with needlefelting. This giraffe is rock solid and can be played with gently. My children have needlefelted animals and if they are not rock solid, they often fray and do not last as long as I would like. Therefore, I decided to make this as durable as I possibly could.

My girlfriend really likes this creation, so did everyone else who saw it whether during the process and/or as a finished project, and her son adores his giraffe...HOWEVER...I must ask you mamas out there...is there a quicker, easier way to get a finished project? Although crafting is almost always a labor of love, does it mean less than a dollar an hour for time? I figured this is what I made after sixty-five hours. Any help is appreciated and, I always adore your comments!

Summer Musings

Our first swarm from one of our hives...
Summer In Colorado
...these are beautiful days to enjoy a tree house and read a book, gaze out and imagine far away places...here is the puzzle- how many fairies do you spy on the magic tree house?
Mailboxes are a fascination...this one I painted and have tended the surrounding garden for years...what does your mailbox look like?

A permaculture, veggie garden, completely organic and non-gmo, where the children find "jeweled delights" to pick and often pop into mouths to enjoy an instant tasty delight...


One of our bees working in the summer sun, enjoying one of my heirloom sunflowers...I soooo enjoy the hues of the petals often stopping to examine every detail, getting lost in the thought of such romance until I hear, "WHERE'S MAMA?" and then I snap back into my reality zone...
One of God's angels sent my way...
Oh look what I came upon while wandering the gardens...a fairy garden where the fairies delight each day and night...
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble, my witches brew for dinner tonight...
A children's garden kitchen...is that a fairy I spy?...
One of our hives complete with bearding...the arthropod inhabitats much too warm thus utilizing aircondition instructions from fathernature...

AND last but not least, where do Coloradans go to keep cool in high ninety-degree weather? We trek to the rink for ice time mojo...where else?...enjoy!