A Fanciful Twist

Summer Magic in the Night Garden...

Heloooooo!

It's summer, hip hip hooray!

I've been swamped this month and now wrapping up some projects means enjoying summer.

I am sooo happy to be here right now.

We welcomed the summer solstice with music & light.

From fairy twinkles to candles flickers...

I've since spent every evening in the garden.

It's been so hot, but evenings up here cool off well enough to enjoy being outside.

The lanterns and lights glow beautifully adding to the magic of the night sky.

Flowers bob around and pups join in the fun.

It's like a little light oasis tucked into the darkest night garden.

Candles drip and flicker.

I play lots of Luiz Bonfa & even some Talvin Singh.

We swing and sip berry and lime drinks.

We dance and bask in the beauty of life.

Living.

Love these moments.

The lanterns hang from a volunteer tree that popped up right in the middle of my garden.

A seed must have floated in, and presto, a tree.

It's 2 years old and growing faster than fast.

Tucked under the canopy of the mesquite tree.

Almost meeting.

We'll see how that goes.

I just couldn't stand to remove something that found its way here.

So, a big tree it is.

Gifting limbs for hanging lanterns and shade for hydrangeas and roses.

Candles flicker in the breeze.

Casting golden hues.

Drip, drip, plop.

Swoosh...

One goes out as smoke swirls about.

Life.

Simple pleasures.

Goodness.

Summer.

Nights.

Candle wax.

Tunes wafting through tree leaves.

Magic.

What more can we ask for really, but simple pleasures as such?

I've sped through another month in life.

Busy busy.

Time to put my house back together.

Get back to my own life after so many projects.

Catch up time.

And bonus, have some massive tea party fun.

It's about that time.

Almost.

Happy summer, it's here!!!

 

How are you doing out there?

It's crrrrazy hot here in the desert.

 

xoxo

 

 

 

 

ps:  Little phone video I posted on instagram during our summer solstice celebration...

 

Of Pencil and Petal

Hello helooooo!

Hi friends!

I am still in my drawing tunnel.

I am in the last crunch time of my illustration deadline, but I wanted to pop in and say heloooo!

How are you?

What's going on out there?

It finally got crrrrrazy Arizona hot here.

So hot that blooming roses get torched just as they try to bloom.

Poor things.

They are still so pretty though aren't they?

Here's a peek at some of my little faces.

I have stacks and stacks of illustrations and lots of scanning I am doing down.

The dinner plate dahlias are blooming and bobbing with their heavy weight.

The heat is making vines twist and twirl.

It's really happening.

Summer is just in time for itself.

I love the fluffers.

Coral pink goodness.

I wish I had photographed the roses below as they changed...

They start out bright canary yellow, then they turn neon orange.

Then all of a sudden they turn almost white with red edges.

And so many clusters too.

They were a gift so I have no idea what their name is, but they sure do go through lots of color changes.

Fun fun!

So, I best get back to work.

I brought some blooms in and am making tea.

I've been up the hills before 6 a.m. & tended my gardens.

Phhhew!

:-)

Time to work, wish me luck.

I am feeling like I might be beginning to fight a cold or something.

Noooooooo!

Haha!

I am not good at colds so I hope the massive amounts of vitamin C does the trick and I avoid the whole thing.

For now I am back to work and loving the poor fresh bloomed dried roses.

I still keep them because they are so lovely.

June is slipping right by isn't it?

My room is in disarray as a pipe in the kitchen wall burst and flooded my room on the other side.

Hello things under the bed floating around, aaaaack!

It's all dry now, and although it's still a bit torn up and walls are cut open, it's dry.

Today pipes will get cut open and on we'll go.

If nothing else my floor is sure clllllleeeean!

I've been through this before at the city house a few years ago.

The whole house had to be ripped open then, every single room.

Good thing that's not the case here in the country.

Knock on wood.

So, when I walked into my room yesterday and it looked like a room in the Titanic I just stared blankly.

Just looked at it, shrugged my shoulders and said, I best get some towels.

Hahaha!

That's the good part about getting older.

Things just don't throw you over the edge like they used to.

You just say, oh great.

And then you just go with the flow like Eeyore.

So, I guess that's good about being older and wiser etc.

 

It's still a beautiful day.

No biggie in the grand scheme of life at all.

It's shiny and hot out with lots of garden growing going on.

I hope your day is fabulous!!

Love, V

 

 

 

 

Of Blooms & Tea Cabinets...

Hello from a lovely cloudy day in the desert.

Pink blossoms continue to fill my two hydrangea bushes.

Lovely things, aren't they?

Nature is good.

They used to be blue, but now I quite love them in their changed state.

Pretty in pink.

Of course, they do aid in the flutter of tea party brain.

Flowers and tea cups do make the soul happy.

Don't they?

Especially for us lovers of petals and warm sips clinked.

Blooms are changing as the days get warmer.

With summer just days away.

Can you believe it at all?

I let petals wither and fade and drop on my mantle.

Such beauty in their withering.

I finally had enough shelves made to fill my tea cabinet that I got on Craigslist a couple months ago.

It was brown & horrid, but with potential, so I painted it white of course, haha!

I brush painted it, what was I thinking?

Little nightmare of 7 coats, but it was so so worth it in the end.

It has bottom shelves too, but I am still organizing those.

I have 3 tea cabinets now.

This one is filled with my most frilly pieces.

Perfect inspiration for our tea party.

And how I adore choosing a tea cup every day.

Adds such a little joy to my days.

I have been collecting pieces for 16+ years now.

Gulp.

I am quite in shock of time flowing past me like a wind storm.

Glad I started really early and have managed to keep my faves in tact.

It's not organized per se, but everything I love is finally in it for the most part.

Now I only collect pieces I adore.

I do pay a bit for pieces I loooove.

But that is balanced with shockingly good finds.

Such as this little creamer on the left, that happens to be French, Limoges.

It was 3 dollars.

Yes 3.

YAY!

I am in love.

So it's all about tea and blooms these days.

Plus me drawing like mad, nearing my illustration deadline.

So much to do, so much to do.

I collect gobs of dried flowers around my house on trays.

I can't seem to part with them.

The colors just get so intense.

They're quite like paper art to me.

So, I keep them.

 

I'm so excited for the mad tea party.

More excited than normal if you can imagine such a thing.

 

I may sneak off to run an errand and peek into an estate shop down the road.

Just posting these pics ignites the tea things hunter in me.

Haha!

 

How are you out there in the great big world?

I have a big blonde fluffer on my right foot as I type.

And a very warm snoring Brownie snuggled under my chair in a way that I am trapped.

 

Time for tea, of course.

And candied ginger.

Yumm.

 

See you soooon!

I gotta get back to work, time is a ticking.

xoxo

 

 

 

 

Mad Tea Planning Galore ♥

Helloooo there!

I'm peeking in to say hello and how are you?

I left the mad tea invite post up for a week+ to let us all catch up after Memorial Day weekend & week.

I'm so excited so many of you are plunging in.

I'm swirling with thoughts for this year's party.

Although I do leave everything until a couple of days before when a wave of inspiration hits.

I'm kind of a last minute gal like that sometimes.

Times seems to flash by so quickly I can hardly catch my breath.

I can't believe it's MTP time again, can you???

I'm so excited for sweets, treats, magic and fun.

It's always such a joy to have a garden party.

Especially one of the wonderland variety.

Don't you think?

Tea cups and pretty things and clinking galore.

I think my true heart does really live somewhere between tea parties and fairy tale book pages flipping in the wind.  With a hint of real world, just for good measure.

A sort of twirl of daydreams and midnight gardens.

Or something like that, haha!

The flowers are still enjoying the garden.

Although it's getting realllllly hot in the desert.

I can't wait to see what we all come up with.

Mustn't be late, no siree.

I've been working feverishly on an illustration deadline.

It's exciting and fun and lots of work.

Keeping me busy is a good thing.

I've been climbing big hills and enjoying lots of nature every single day.

I hope to run up the biggest steepest hill without stopping for breath soon.

Running on flat ground is one thing, but uphill is a whole other animal.

I'm so excited to get out all the old china and have some fun with you.

Oh and by the way, welcome June 1st!

It's June!

And by the by, how are you out there in the world?

 

I post almost everyday over on instagram, if you want to peek in any ole time and say hello.

It's lots of fun over there.

I can't believe I fought social media for so many years, haha!!

 

Okay so, it's tea time for real.

I'll keep posting some fun inspiring tea party posts here before the party.

To get us all extra excited for ruffled shirts and top hats.

 

Love, V