Real Life Fairy Garden

The Fairy Garden is in! This is what hubby and I have been working on all week. Actually, hubby has done most of the work. But, yours truly DID do her fair share of shovelling gravel. I like to do that, strangely enough. :)

When I was photographing the garden, the stones didn't show up, so I had to give them their own closeups. There is a stone on each side of the fairies. I have such a collection of fairies that it was hard to choose which ones to set out. I can always alternate them in and out if I choose. So, this is my magical spot to gaze at each morning. The sun rises on this side of the house, so they are bathing in the light when I first see them. I'd say that's a good way to start the day!

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I'm making steady progress on my zine. Tomorrow I'll include some of the "stars" that will make their appearance in each zine. My imagination is really having a heyday with this big project. Luckily I have a couple of months to pull it all together. I will need every bit of that with all of the things I have in mind.

I'll keep it short today. Stay tuned for further developments...

Highclere Castle

This is the revised page one of my digital altered book. I like it MUCH better. I tried to use the diagram that was given in the original book, but it just didn't do much for me. After a lot of time spent trying to get that page to look decent, I was just never satisfied with it. I want each page to show the splendor of actual castles and my original page one just didn't work.

I've got five pages finished. I am really happy with the way the book is progressing. I'm itching to start the haunted castles next, but I've got to concentrate on this one. I think I'll have more than enough images to fill it out.

One thing that slowed me down today was internet connection problems. I could rant on and on about that, but enough said. Some days just aren't going to go smoothly and it's up to me how I handle that. I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude and continue with the plan for today. I'm back online now and that's what matters. How's that for accepting adversity with a smile? ;)

Speaking of positive things, I've got more beautiful papers to scan in today. I found some gorgeous paper with French text written on it, some very frilly girly paper with crowns and diamonds (total whimsy), and a real different sort of background paper with a chalkboard effect. It will be interesting to see what I can come up with to add to these.

I'm investigating the pens and tablets that are out now for computers. I've got my eye on a WACOM tablet. I'm still in the investigation stage, but it looks like a lot of fun! There are so many choices out there when you really start looking. It's a little overwhelming. We'll have to actually go see a few of these in action. After all, my birthday is coming up next week... That's all for today. Will keep you updated on these and other events.

Whimsical Follies ATC

This was a fun card to make. All of the images are so whimsical. I came across the cutest project book called Fanciful Paper Projects by Sandra Evertson. It is full of images to copy and directions on how to make your own fanciful art. This little girl, the jewel in the bottom left corner and the background papers are all from the book! It is so much fun to look through, you feel like a kid again.

I have started on my next digital altered book about the castles. I finally have the title in my head. The original book was called Romantic Castles and Palaces Described by Great Authors. I changed the title to, Fairy Castles and Palaces Described by Isabella! I finished the cover and the first two pages. I am still tinkering with the all of these. I'm always making little changes here and there when I look at them the next day. I'll post the latest version of the cover tomorrow.

I was lucky enough to use some beautiful photos of actual castles in Ireland that my BFF Sharon took while she was over there. Thank you, Sharon! You will see these in the next book. They are awesome. I always knew I wanted to do something with those photos when she sent them to me. I embellished these with a great scrapbook "stack" tablet called, appropriately enough, Fairytales. There are some really nice papers in there. These are the real deal, not digital, so I had to scan them. They are just too pretty to actually use! They have glitter on some of them, and just looking at some of those papers you feel transported back in time. They are gorgeous, and I got them for 50% off!

The digital book also comes with a few pictures of very old castles and I'll incorporate those as well. I'm trying to branch out with this book and use more of the book that's given to me. With the last one, I immediately covered up every page with my own papers. I felt that was how I wanted to proceed with that one. This one, however, does have more to offer that can be incorporated into what I want to do.

I had to learn a lesson in patience lately. I was distressed to see that when the Artella website posted my book in their gallery, along with all of the other beautiful entries, it had the wrong cover! Gasp! I contacted them and told them about it, and they said they would get right on it. It was a nice enough cover, it just wasn't mine. And the cover IS your first view of the book. Being the obsessive-compulsive personality that I am, I checked the gallery periodically (too many times, truth be told) over the next couple of days to see if the correct cover showed up and there was still no change.

I am not a patient person; ask my family. Even before the instant gratification of the internet and blogging and publishing things instantaneously, I have always been very impatient. So, I kept prodding them to please fix my cover. I wasn't rude, but they could probably tell my frustration. Anyway, it all worked out and it got corrected. I felt badly about pestering them about it, and posted a thank you in the forum naming the employees who really helped me out with the problem. I must remember to take a breath, calm down. Things have a way of working out; maybe not immediately, but they get there!

OK, enough about that. Stay tuned for the book cover tomorrow which is still subject to last minute changes...

Fairies at Rest

Everybody has to rest sometime! Even these little ladies. I am gathering more images for my next digital altered book (DAB) and I think I'll find room for some of these little ones. You can click on the picture and see it full size. I love the foggy background. Maybe I can find a place for this scene outside one of my castles...

Today is a gorgeous day here. The earthquakes settled down and there was no more activity after the two mild ones yesterday. Even though they were mild, everyone around here agreed we didn't want to experience any more shaking.

I mailed off my ATCs and now await my trades! In the meantime I have to start thinking about the next ATC swap with the theme Sherlock Holmes. That will be a fun one to start gathering images for. As usual, when they are finished I will post them here.

Btw, I won 3rd place in the DAB contest at the Artella site! I entered it because I wanted there to be a variety of books to look at. I was honored to place 3rd in the contest! It was a lot of fun, and I think there will be more contests to come. I'll keep you posted.

Now I'm off to explore outside today. Too gorgeous a day to spend too much time at the keyboard!

Last Minute ATC

I decided to do one more ATC for the batch to send. This one had the pink/purple colors I like and that remind me of fairies and all things mystical. Now I have to rush off to the post office and send these things off.

We had a small earthquake here this morning at about 5:30 a.m. My husband and I weren't quite sure what had happened. It sounded like something rolling down the roof, and then it sounded like thunder far off. The bed made a shuffling sound; it's hard to describe. I thought my cat had gotten up inside the box spring again and was trying to get out. That's what it felt like; like something running loose under the bed.

Then, awhile ago, at about 11:30 a.m. I was up here on the computer and the desk started swaying left to right. My monitor was tipping toward me a little. The house literally shook. The windows rattled. I headed downstairs and then it stopped.

I saw on the news that a 5.2 earthquake hit Illinois this morning. No word yet on this most recent tremblor. It was stronger than the one this morning. We don't usually have earthquakes here. I hope this isn't going to continue.

My ATCs are Finished

Here is the first card I did. I liked it so much that I'm sending out two of them! I used various digital scrapbooking kits and other elements from my collections. I liked the way it turned out and the colors are some of my favorites.

The theme of the ATC (artist trading card) swap was There is Magic in the Air and I naturally thought of fairies, since that is where my mind is artistically at the moment. Here is the second card. It's very similar to the first, but the background is different. I'm also sending two of these.


Here is the third card. This is something totally different from the first two in colors and it's more of a three dimensional card. I liked the graphics and the purple (my favorite color) really stands out in it.

Here is what the back of the cards look like. Under the words created by I stamped my name in a fancy alphabet stamp set I haven't used for awhile. I forgot about it, and now will have to start using it again.

Well, now I just have to get these things in the mail. I will get 4 in return and will post them here when I receive them. I'm trying to stick to all of these deadlines. I have also started on my next digital altered book. The book I have to work with is called Romantic Castles and Palaces. I'll play with the title and as I progress will post my work here.

More to come later...