A Fanciful Twist

Summer Loves

Oh Summer summer summer...

The thick clouds finally rolled in threatening monsoon season.

Dinner plate dahlias hang around, bobbing in the heat, begging for a drink.

Caterpillars munch heart shaped morning glory leaves into lace.

I love watching caterpillars eat my leaves.

So many butterflies are now coasting in the breeze.

I've filled my arbors with my pine cone zinnias.

They have totally held up and fill the flower void, as the roses on this arbor only bloom once a year.

(make your own zinnias here)

The cosmos have grown taller and taller for months and are just about to explode.

Large blooms too.

My garden gets most of its flowers in late summer and fall.

The most curious thing has been happening.

Large insects have met their demise right before my eyes.

I had to pull over to save one the size of my fist that hit my car wind shield.

Then...

This one fluttered out of the sky, twirling to the ground as I walked out of a shop last week.

So, I brought him home.

I placed him in my collection of bugs I have found already dead.

Poor thing.

I was amazed at the double wing structure.

 I love my dead bugs.

Also...

It's officially official now.

The pumpkin patch 2015 is really finito for sure.

The leaves started to come back from the first javelina feast, then 3 nights ago the javelinas slammed their bodies into the fence until they busted it again, desperation is incredible, and finished it off.  Even pulling vines down from above the domed garden enclosure.

So, there you have it.

I'm not upset about it at all.

I don't know why, I'm just not.

I normally would have sobbed.

Alas, such is life.

I'm am happy to be eating basil though.

Basil is everything summer to my heart.

The scent of purest summer days.

Waiting for monsoons.

Day after scorching day until finally.......

They explode.

In fact I tried to get here yesterday but we lost power until late night.

So, I was finally able to sneak in today.

The poor dry earth was begging for rain.

If you are wondering about mud, here is something interesting.

Our soil is very sandy, so the water just absorbs as though it was never there and mud is a rare sight around my place.  Interesting no?

I love watching the storm from the front garden porch.

My flower garden is in the front yard, so I get to watch rain on mountains and in garden from the deck.

Of course I was dancing in those glorious showers, as you can imagine.

Watching all the growing things smile and take big breaths of bliss.

Just magical desert rain I tell ya.

It got very wild for a while.

I posted videos on instagram, if you fancy a peak.

Cisterns overflowing...

Followed by the most spectacular sunset in brilliant candy pink.

The power was out so I played the piano by candlelight to bide the time in the dark.

I love that sort of summer drama.

Wind whipping around.

Hail and giant water droplets.

Losing power.

It's just all so exciting when it happens.

It's actually just raining now again, so I'm typing really fast.

Because I'm pretty sure we may lose power again.

I love love love the rain after 90 days of pure heat.

Dreammmy!!

 

How's life out in your neck of the woods?

Fill me in, won'tcha?

 

Looove, V

 

 

 

 

After Party Summer

Hello from after party land!

What a fun mad tea season it was.

Now it's time to put back all the treasures and restore some sense of order.

If only I could remember how everything fit in my cabinets originally, haha!

(Pics help a little)

Stacking and...

Layering galore.

I have been ever so busy the last few months.

Today I woke up utterly exhausted.

So, I took a day off from running around hills or garden paths today.

Arizona heat, blaring sun, up at the crack of dawn every day.

Chores and things.

Maybe I might need a vacay soon?

My deadlines are all sent in, the tea party is all cleaned up.

Summer is here, right smack in the thick of it.

Dogs are napping.

We've had Matty with an emergency vet visit eye injury, all cured now.

Miles with check-ups, both eating plain cheeseburgers after.

House a wreck.

Pups napping in the studio.

Following me around like baby chicks.

Matty (brown dog) leans on my knee as I do laundry or try to get ready to go anywhere.

Miles snores and yawns, snores and yawns.

 

I've enjoyed lots of nice dinners out.

Several movies at the actual theater.

Pineapple and coconut frozen yogurts, with fresh coconut and pineapple on top.

Standing in the hills watching storms roll in.

Running through sprinklers.

Shopping in antique stores that have no a/c, just swamp cooling.

Melting.

Grilling dinners, eating all colors of beets and veggies at whole foods.

Quinoa & avocados & lime soaked yams with salt, yumm.

Tending my gardens every morning and evening.

 

Wishing I knew what kind of rose bush I planted in front of my cottage.

I don't think I saved the tag 3 or 4 years ago.

Gifting roses all summer like mad in pure sun.

A floribunda of some kind for sure.

Sprinkles on hollyhocks that are seeding everywhere for next year.

Sitting on the front porch with a fan in my face.

Watching zinnias bloom.

(having to cage them as the yellow belly finches are eating them to the ground, leaves and all, even though we feed them thistle seeds)

Picking basil.

And then, the most kind of awful and exciting thing has been going on.

Huge amounts of animal activity in our garden this year.

For starters, I shall tell you that I lost my entire vegetable garden out back.

Twice.

Once to racoons.

I rebuilt it and just lost it again to javelina.

Pumpkin patch and all.

I might be able to save a few vines, but maybe not.

Our property is walled and fenced in, but they busted through fencing.

My vegetable garden is also fence in, but they busted through that too.

I have to say, I'm not upset.

The pumpkin patch did have me almost at tears.

But then I thought, it's hot, there hasn't been tons of rain this year.

The poor critters are starving in the desert.

So, I fed them well, if nothing else.

Even a pack of coyotes got into our property.

The animals are obviously struggling, which makes me sad.

I think I may be able to save my strawberry patch.

It literally looks like bombs went off in every veggie bed.

Dug up, chomped up disaster.

Luckily they didn't come to the front yard where my flower garden is.

The birds have also been very active this year.

They ate all my plums and grapes.

It's a crazy animal year.

So, Mister Lovee has covered the peaches with bags, haha!

Kinda funny, no?

Desperate attempt to have peaches at least.

Here is a link to what our peach tree and veggie garden normally look like when not being treated as a buffet.

Ah well.

I'm not upset.

More ready for a vacation really, haha!

Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something.

Miles sure knows how to live it up.

Matty didn't let me take his photo, oh well.

The sunset was glorious last night.

I felt the faintest most curious vibe last night.

Just for a split second, out of the corner of my eye, I saw autumn.

Just for a second.

Even though it's still summer hot, it flickered somewhere out there.

And I thought, I better absorb this summer goodness.

Golden sunset through trees included.

Lighting candles and fairy lights at sunset.

Turning up the music...

And basking in the summer night garden.

Life is so lovely.

I think it's telling me to take a lil' break.

The sun possibly did me in a little yesterday.

Or it's an accumulation of endless days in it.

So, I'd say some popsicles and r&r are in order for the rest of the day.

How is summer treating you out there?

I'm not sure I'll sit still, ideas are swirling about big time.

The end of July looms.

Oh time, you rascal, you never sit still yourself!

 

Can't wait to hear what you are up to out there in your neck of the woods!

 

Love, V

 

 

 

 

Mad Tea Party ♥ 2015

Hello fellow dreamers!

Welcome to our 8th annual Mad Tea Party ♥

Oops, looks like someone may have eaten the caterpillar!

 

Lovely meeting again, in that place where wishes flutter on the breeze of flipping book pages.

Where imagination is limitless and stories live on for 150 years and more.

Thanks to Lewis Carroll, we meet on this 150 year anniversary of Alice in Wonderland.

 

In 1865, a dreamer too, wrote a tale so inspiring and magical that it lives on and defines a part of our imagination in ways not even he could have imagined.

We clink to a magnificent tale and the man who thought it up ♥

So that we could continue partying like it's 1865 year after year!

Generation after generation.

And so we plunge...

Into the mad tea party chapter.

Because really, what's anything without a little madness?

Sweets and treats.

Teacups stacked from here to there.

It's time it's time!

The light of golden hour flickers in...

As we gather right outside the fairy bower.

A perfect place to sip and munch before deciding to plunge through the arbor into wonderland.

Candy coated chocolates roll about the table.

As cakes call your name.

I thought the baby pig was cute, so I stole her from a previous chapter.

Who wouldn't want to gaze upon ruffled flowers and maybe swallow a cake or two?

Even pigs do.

Sparkles and petals and happy things galore.

Pretties and buttercream and sipping tea with striped strawers?

Little moon faces made out of sugar and edible glitter beg to be dunked...

In they go...

Swirling to and fro.

Then sipped for ultimate magical experience at any tea party.

(learn how to make your own here)

Petals float in tea cups.

Top hats get passed around.

Piggies eat cookies too :-)

Stardust flutters about.

Even tiny edible stars turn up on queen cakes just for you.

We read aloud with great respect for sheer madness!

And then it's time for making wishes.

Wishes made in pennies and keys and sparklies.

Who knows, one might even come true for you?

Note that, the one activated wish on the bottom right is not photoshopped.

Hmm, perhaps it's yours?

Yes yes, it must be!

Golden light casts its spell...

As the clock strikes...

Time for you to decide if you will stay and have tea or venture further into your dreams?

Anyone willing to go first?

Oh, here we go, first brave soul.

In he goes...

Wonder what his wish would be?

And what he thinks he might see?

The question is, will you follow?

And what do you hope to find?

We'll be here waiting to hear your tales.

Sloshing our tea about.

Nibbling until our buttons pop.

Laughing until we have to lay on the ground holding our bellies.

Dreaming forever and more if we can.

We'll rhyme and joke and confuse everyone who stops in.

Which of course, you know you're welcome to stop in any time, don'tcha?

Morning, noon, night, we'll be here.

Yes yes, right here.

Ready to fill up your cup.

So never fear, someone just like you is always near.

A dreamer, a whimsian, a tender hearted imaginarian.

Waiting to mad tea with you.

So glad you came and could stay and so hope to see you again.

Hoooooray!

Hooray for believing no matter what anyone says.

I believe, this is one thing I know to be true.

And, I have a feeling, so do you!!

Just like our friend, Lewis Carroll.

 

Happy 8th annual mad tea party my friends!!

Thanks for joining in, either by hosting your own event or being a lovely guest.

It's always so much fun because of you! ♥

 

Lots of love, Vanessa

 

Feel free to visit past parties here.

 

 

 

 

ps:  If you are a party participant please leave your party link in comments, it will serve as an archive for years to come ♥

 

 pss:  If possible, please remember to leave your tea party post up for a few days.  It takes us all several days to make all those visits, thank you!

 

 

Let's Make Wonderful & Easy Homemade Sugar Cubes!

Hello there!

The mad tea party is right around the corner, a perfect time to make tea treats.

I was thinking about making something pretty and easy, then it came to me.

Homemade sugar cubes!

Only, they ended up being more like little sculptures than cubes :-)

I used my exact technique for making panoramic sugar eggs here and here.

Remember those?

It worked great for sugar cubes.

I am smitten with this new fun and highly addictive craft of sorts.

Moons & hearts & sugar, oh my!

Bonus, it is sooooo easy.

All you need is sugar, water, food coloring, parchment paper and any objects you can find to press sugar into.

Plus, a little drying or low temp.oven time to set the sugar (more on that below).

So, just like the panoramic sugar eggs, you will use 2 teaspoons of water for every 1 cup of sugar.

I like to use 3 cups of sugar and 6 teaspoons of water, which is a decent size batch.

You mix it up really well using a wooden spoon, or your hands, until your sugar is the consistency of wet sand.

Funny enough, it's also just like working with wet sand at the beach.

If you'd like to add some color, a drop or two of standard food coloring does the job.

When I was making the sugar eggs I found that I could make really pretty stands and extras just by pressing the sugar into fancy mini bundt tins and such.

So, I sought out some mini cookie cutters and mini tart molds I had for this project.

Line your work surface and your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Then plunge into fun!

I also used a teaspoon as a mold to make teaspoon sugar cubes as well.

I quickly amassed a fun smattering of sugar shapes.

Don't worry, some will crumble & it's okay, just keep going.

I also made some minty colored sugar mixture by adding two drops of green food coloring to the sugar and two drops of blue.

I just add food coloring right to the wet sand sugar mixture and mix it in by hand, easy.

I was having so much fun making different shapes, and then I had a shazam moment!

What about edible gold dust?!

Gold disco dust no less :-)

I mixed some into my mint colored sugar and it looked great.

Then I went hunting for these moon face molds I had bought years ago for use with polymer clay.

I had never used them and thought they would work perfectly.

And....

Guess what?

They sure did.

Then I used a round mini cookie cutter to make dots.

Moons and hearts and other shapes jumped into the mix and I had a ball.

I also just sprinkled some edible gold dust right on top of some of the shapes.

So here's the final step.

To set them you can let them air dry in a dry place for 24-48 hours...

Or, my fave trick is to pop them in the oven at about 120'F - 150'F for 12-15 minutes.

Just make sure they do not brown.

And voila, they get nice and firm like proper sugar cubes should be.

Set in their shapes until you wet them.

Of course, I had to dunk a moon face in some earl grey tea right away.

And then it happened.

Pure magic!

I could not have been happier, doesn't sparkly tea make you happy?

I sipped away, enjoying it to pieces.

I really don't think a cup of tea could get any more magical, do you?

So, I have to say, the experiment worked.

I'm tickled to pieces and had to come share this project right away.

Especially since it's a great edible craft to do for all sorts of occasions, especially tea parties.

Although, I think I will keep some around all the time.

It's just super fun in general and sure to add some smiles to any tea day.

I'm so in love with these.

And bonus...

Who wouldn't love...

Gold dust at the bottom of their tea cup?!

You can get your own edible disco dust at all sorts of places online.

I like to order some of my supplies from Kitchen Krafts, right here.

 

So, there we have it.

A really fun, easy & inexpensive project.

It really was just like playing with sand.

You will get the hang of it after a couple tries.

You can see above, that my cookie sheets were a hot mess.

It does crumble sometimes but is also really easy to work with if you are a little gentle.

I hope you give it a whirl.

I had a blast.

 

Mad Tea Party fun!!!!

 

Just another week or so and we'll be clinking tea cups!!

Can't wait!

 

Love, Vanessa

 

 

 

 

 ps:  If you really want to experiment with this, you can add all sorts of spices or extracts to your wet sand sugar mixture.  Just a tiny drop or pinch of this or that.  Things such as vanilla or lavender extract, or a pinch of cardamom or cinnamon.  You can also use rose water as a substitution for regular water.  I personally like standard water and sugar, but experimenting is good fun, just make sure you warn your guests about the flavors.