Had such an amazing time at the festival! We did everything that fairies do…meandered in the woods in a magical maze, ate yummy fairy food, frolicked in the fields, sat in the warm sunshine, watched bubbles…was such a blissful day!

Roadtrip! After a very long ride I was so happy to finally be outside!

Bubbles and gathering up some magic…

The path to the festival

I came home feeling creative and inspired by all the energy and wanting to bake some sort of flower petal filled cake!

Hooray for rainy days and long walks through woods, meadow and swamps sipping warm green tea! I was able to hide under my umbrella and meander around.

Sunday…

Spent awhile searching for one of these little guys, knew I would find a dear jack-in-the-pulpit…

Large, large leaf! Skunkweed grows wild and free in the swampy areas of the woods.

Filling my pockets with magical little heart rocks and shards.

Sweet meadow pond swans

fairy grotto!

Another rainy day bits of me

oh yeah!

…are fairy tears indeed. And fairies do cry, often.

found on the very wet woodsy floor…

Yesterday I found my vintage peachy dress for next weekend’s sweet gathering at the maypole! Layed it down in the lush bed of moss that grows outside my door. Last year (and every year for that matter) I had such a fun time!

May Day is upon us! I would like to thank the enchanted Ulla for getting me all inspired by all her sweet fairy tale posts as of late! Ulla, your blog never fails to inspired and enrich me!

And, other things that inspired the past few days:

The way the sunlight pours though my windows, my every growing ivy plant and the fact that my thumb may actually be green and a small sketch of favorite things:

♥ paints and messy palettes
♥ soft candle light
♥ horses in meadows
♥ house plants

And I spent some time pushing paints around on this oval panel. Browns and blues, the very beginings of a densely paint-layered piece

☮

I can’t believe how time flew by! A little break turns into a month of nonposting. For me this spring is a time of new directions, capturing ideas….

What a beautiful Earth Day! Today I walked for miles to sit by the pond and gaze into the water and just be. The water’s surface was like a giantic looking glass for the sky, the tree branches and red-winged blackbirds. Their song is my favorite. Look below and you might see one on the tree’s branches.

Things will unfold…

Sitting on the roots of a willow tree I picked dandelions and little yellow flowers and played with configurations on my hands like henna designs that came alive. As the tiny buds floated across the water I thought of things that hold me back, keep me from being creative, keep me from painting. From there I ran the whole way home. And I painted the afternoon in my sketchbook with watercolors and in oils on a wooden panel. It’s a start.

These have been sitting in my studio for some time, new directions I set up in an inspiring little shrine-like fashion. . I am so excited about all of these.

Painting the grisaille layer in burnt umber and titanium white this afternoon.

Everyday small pleasures

♥ moroccan mint green tea, iced
♥ the sound of silver bangle bracelets (like little bells)
♥ blues, greens and grays
♥ rubbing magnolia petals between my fingers til they tear apart (they are so soft!)
♥ the beach and searching for shells and shiney things in the sand
♥ being 29!

And yesterday was my birthday so we spent a beautiful day together roadtripping. The beach being one of our first stops, then searching for thrift clothes (hooray I found a pretty dress and some shirts!) meandering around the campus at Princeton and then to a sushi dinner. Yesterday, a perfect gray beach day:

The first full day of being 29 was beautiful!

…and ships on cigar boxes and the sea. Everything is so incredibly lush! Little purple flowers were the perfect backdrop to my old cigar box stashed with pen nibs from decades ago. I have been writing and sketching lots in my journal. The feel of the nib running over the smooth surface of the watercolor paper is sooo addicting! Just a few more days til I have some time off, my birthday and a much needed visit to the seashore and more walks in the woods…perfect timing as spring is in full bloom.

and here it is, a silvery locket adorned with poppy-themed paintings:

its here while it lasts! and theres another one too (with a green bow).

A locket work-in-progress that will go up in my store tomorrow night and will be adorned with a silver chain and a ribbon bow. Poppy Locket …and there will be two this time!

I was reminded of the poppies when I uncovered by this very old postcard from Switzerland, purchased in an antique store. Followed by the newest 20’s girl in my collection, bought on Etsy. Theres something about her eyes and the printed blouse ruffle around her neck.

It’s been soooo long-awaited. The warm sunshine and the crocuses sprouting up signal it’s arrival. Been spending most of my free time outside in the semi-warm sunshine and making sepia washes in my sketchbooks, looking inward and not too worried about outcomes. I dug up some very old fountain pens and it feels so much nicer dipping the pen in and out of the ink for my little sketchy notes and things, slowly. Mmmmm…

And this was before the lace was glued into my tiny inspiration-filled watercolor moleskine, a mistake as now it does not close properly!

I found the above little treasures in an old box (the magnifying glass) and out in the garden bed (the rose shard).The locket is a recyled (but not truely vintage, I think) one that will be in shop soon, along with two others (poppy themed!). The sketches, well those are for me!

Despite the fact that it feels like early spring (I’m not complaining!) I ventured outside in the cold rain to take a few pictures in the moss. I must say, this locket was the best find ever! It’s a rare round shape and has three places for pictures. When I saw the rope-shaped links in the long, chunky golden chain I knew it was absolutely perfect…I am just so smitten by this locket! Take a little look-see…

I absolutely LOVE the golden-roped chain!

It can be found here before it sets out to sea!

Lets see…what else have I been up too…sketching! Lots to share. I just opened my new paints (they sat in their box untouched for 1/2 week due to the fact that I am so, so busy with other things, good things.) But I can’t even express how excited about them and their luscious pigments. How good does it feel to get new paints, open them up and squeeze their little tubes onto the palette?

Clearly I am exhausting my stash of jumbo vintage lockets but I just had to offer this one. Opened, with mini prints from The Very Curious Fox and tied with a vintage gingham bow!

This one-of-a-kind locket and additional photos can be found here while it lasts!