Second Star Adventure Give-Away

My Creative Pixie dust has been flowing big time.  And I’m having way too much fun with it.  Good thing Prince Erik is out of town this week.  It gives me a chance to clean up all the saw-dust that’s laying around.

I know I’ve been promising you details on the gifts that some of the lucky participants in my Second Star Adventure will receive.  Well, although they are not finished, they are finished enough for me to show them to you.

For the Young and Young at Heart I have two Fairy Door’s.

And a Lucky Necklace.

The picture doesn’t do it justice.  The necklace and earrings are made of ebony wood (the good luck wood) by a local artesian.  I added a touch of my new-found love of my dremel tool and carved the Word ‘Believe’ along with the two stars.  The indentations are filled with Pixie Dust and sealed with a varnish.

The doors were labors of love.  I love them so much it will be hard to part with them.

The first is ‘The Fairy Dream’ Door.  Approximately 7 1/2 inches high and 7 inches wide.

Don’t know if you can tell from the picture, but I used the dremel tool to make the stones surrounding the door stand away from the wall.

And the vines are yet another of my favorite tools – The Wood Burner.

And my favorite word.

The other Door is the the ‘Cottage Kitchen’ Door.

The quote above the door, ‘There is nothing like a Dream to create the Future,’ by Victor Hugo. 

This is the door to my dream cottage.

See there’s even a visiting mouse hiding in the grass.  And my mother’s favorite flower waiting to greet any new visitors.

Can you see how I’m going to have a hard time parting with these?

But I am.  They will go to another Young at Heart Home.  Just sharing my imagination.

Want to know how to get a chance to win one of these?

Well first you have to become a participant in my Second Star Adventure.  Just click on the picture for more details. 

 

I’ll announce the winner on the 28th of August.  I’m giddy with excitement.  Hope you can join the fun.

Second Star to the Right Treasure Give-Away

The sound of a drum roll starts softly and increases in strength and sound.

Fairy Fawn:  I’m here to announce the winners of my Mounds of Treasure.

Heralding Trumpets sound a dramatic Fanfare.

Fairy Fawn:  In honor of all the wonderful Second Star to the Right Participants and loyal commenter's to our Adventure,  We now present the lucky winners.

Cheers erupt throughout the land.

Fairy Fawn:  The winner of Hook Verses Pan is…

‘Myrna of My Enchanted Home.’

The cheering reaches a deafening roar.

Fairy Fawn:  And the winner of the Enchanted Maidens Pack is…

‘Melissa of Fairy Child Heirlooms Weblog.’

Stomping of feet and clapping now takes on a rhythmic pattern.

Fairy Fawn:  And finally the magical winner of the Fairy Treasure is…

Harly Dee of Koala Fuzz.

Fairy Fawn:  But a wish I could bestow a gift on all the gracious people whose participation and left delightful comments.  You have made this my most magical party ever.  Thank you again.  And please visit me next year around the same time. 

And congrats to the winners.  Please email me your addresses so that I can send the goodies.

Second Star to the Right Adventure!

The great man is he who does not lose his child's-heart. ~Mencius, Book IV

Guess What? It’s my 300th Post. And I’m having a Blog party with presents.

It’s going to be a grand adventure. Presents and all. So grab your pixie dust, wings, or if your inclined, your pirate cutlass or slingshot and come along. Beware, This is not just any blog party. It’s a party for the Young and the Young at Heart. And all it takes to attend…

Is a little Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust.

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt

I’ve been tossing this idea around for a couple of months now and seeing that summer is flying by, and sadly, there is no Holiday to celebrate in August, I don’t want it all to pass by without embracing the inner child, having fun, visiting the world of imagination and loving every moment spent with family and friends. We would love to have you attend.

Everyone is invited whether your 1 day old or 100. All you need is a little imagination and a willingness to share with other’s your secrets to staying young at heart. Some ideas might be…

* Make a fairy garden then eat some tea and cakes with them.

Maybe they’ll take you flying or sprinkle you with Pixie Dust.

* If that’s too tame you could cross Swords with Hook and his villainous crew. (Please remember that this is a family friendly website so nothing too dreadfully bloody.) I reserve the right to make any inappropriate party goers walk the plank.

* Then go in search of some buried Treasure…

* Climb Trees with the Lost Boys.

* Build a Teepee with Tiger Lily

* Dress up as your favorite character.

* Swim in Mermaid Lagoon (take care not to let them drown you)

* Build Sandcastles on the Beach

* Lie on your back and watch the Clouds (See the little fairy on the right?)

* Or sleep under the stars.

Remember all the fun things you did as a child and do them again. Smell the roses, watch the sunset. Eat Ice cream on a cone. Enjoy the little moments.

Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do. ~Jean de la Bruyere

Record your adventure and blog about it on Sat. August 22nd. We’ll have such a grand time visiting everyone. Just post a comment and your ULR below and I’ll be sure and link your party to mine on my side bar.

It wouldn’t be a party without presents so I’ll be giving away some fun goodies like this Never land Treasure box, a fairy pendant, and more to a few of my lucky party attendee’s. To see all the Treaured loot you'll need to visit this Post Here. You’ll get one entry for participating in the party. You can also get another entry by leaving a comment on Aug. 22nd to the actual party adventure.

Feel free to copy and link the invitation to your blog. Here’s a couple of different sizes you can choose from. I just right click on the image and choose the ‘save picture as’ button. Then link up.

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It won’t be the same without you. Hope you can come.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed. ~Albert Einstein

Dear Christmas Angel,

We received your gift a couple of days ago and are still a little overwhelmed by your generosity. It’s something my husband and I never expected. Dear Angel, you came silently and anonymously so we have no idea how to thank you.

At first it was very hard to recognize your sacrifice, probably because of a little pride on our part. Our first thoughts were there are sooooo many other people who are in worse condition who deserve this more than we do.

Yes, we’ve had some unexpected and expensive things happen to us over the past couple of months, but as would most people, we were just moving forward, making plans and working out solutions to our problems. We did not feel that we were in real need.

I guess what we’re saying is – It’s really hard for us to ask for help. And sometimes it’s harder to receive. We like to give. When I (FawnDear) got sick a couple of years ago. My husband and a good friend gave me a blessing. In the blessing I was told I would be whole again. Normal. But our wise friend told me he really thought that blessing would come true (and it has), but he was inspired to tell me that it would take time and that he really felt that I needed to learn how to receive help. I needed to learn the blessing of letting other people give service.

For a little bit, we secretly thought of giving your gift away. I’m sorry that we thought that. Then we realized how we would feel if we gave a precious gift to someone who turned it away – it would break our hearts. I guess that’s when we finally saw you. You dear angel have opened your arms and heart to the true meaning of Christmas. God’s love for all his children shines bright in your actions and in giving to us you have given much more than we could ever receive.

Matthew 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Dear Angel, thank you for sharing your Christ-like love with our family. Thank you for your example and your gift. We will treasure it, honor it and always remember it.

Love, Prince Erik and FawnDear

Stick a Fork in it!

'Mom, there are dingle-hoppers everywhere,' Hope announced to us this morning as we were all waking up. Yes, she often dresses like a blue fairy with a bad eye for shoe size. It's amazing she doesn't fall down more often but she's got quite the balance for a 3-year-old.

So I looked out the window and saw these all over our front lawn.

A literal army of little Forks.

I instantly groaned thinking Evo-man was up to his wasteful Shenanigans again, or maybe it was some of Abners friends punking our house. Teenagers can be soooo annoying.

So I went down to investigate and I found this on the door.

Afterthought: If the meaning of this yard prank flys over your head. That's o.k. I forgive you for knowing nothing about Twilight. The setting of the book is mainly centered around the town of Forks, WA (hence the forks reference.) We now return to my reaction.

It was meant for me of all people. My moan and groaning chagrin immediately departed and my school-girl giddiness took over. Wow someone cared enough to come in the middle of the night and risk stepping in Dog droppings to surprise me. Turns out around seven of my Twilight Obsessed Friends all got Fork’ed last night. So now there’s a big mystery Who-Dun-It being bounced around. I for one think it was amazingly clever and way cooler than toilet paper ever could be. I have the bestest friends Ever!

It got me thinking about Twilight again so I snuck off to the movie again this afternoon and guess what – It’s actually better the second time around. Maybe if I go again it will just keep getting better and better and better. Shhhh! Don’t tell Prince Erik.

O.K. I know you’re all sick of hearing about Twilight from me so that’s enough. I did get some other fun surprises today. Princess couldn’t wait to open this little treasure we got in the mail today from Faith of ‘Has Anyone seen my cape?’

She sent me one of her fabulous Etsy creations that I won on a contest on her blog. The surprise was not only did I get the cute Mommy and Me barrette that I picked out.

And she added the sweetest little Love barrette as a bonus.

Thank you Faith! The girls and I love them and I’ll have to get some more, soon. I'm thinking her 'Hope and Joy' barrettes are quite cute as well. Check out her shop sometime soon.

It was really my day for mail. I also received an early Christmas present from my brother Arrow and his wife. They sent me the perfect gift that I have to just totally plug –especially if you have a fire addicted pre-teen in your home. They remembered me blogging about how much I love, love, love scented candles but don’t get them anymore because matches are about as dangerous as markers around here. It’s not a risk I’m willing to make. So they sent me the next best thing.

Scentsy Wickless Candles!

This sweet plug-in has enough wattage in it to melt little wax cubes of delicious scent that can fill your entire home and camouflage the stinkies.

Prince Erik had it going when I got back this evening and it was the most welcoming gift to walk through the front doors and catch a whiff of ‘Vanilla Walnut’ instead of the customary ‘Smelly Diaper’ or 'Burnt Toast'.

Thank you, Thank you Bro and Family.

Last but not least – I did listen to your comments. I even fielded phone calls begging me not to take my scissors to (re-purpose) – and hack up the beautiful tablecloth I scored at the thrift store.

So it will remain a heirloom tablecloth and grace our family table as often as I can bear to leave it there – but never at mealtimes until we learn some table manners.

Such a great 'Happy Thought' Day. Thanks again to everyone who made it possible from pranksters to Faith to Arrow's family.

Happy Thoughts

So I had a couple of downer weeks. Who cares? I had a pretty good excuse considering my house is revolting.

Turns out the scale cared. I avoided it while Carb loading on comfort food. Besides how much damage could two weeks do?

PLENTY!!!

Turns out all the weight I worked so hard to loose over the last 2 ½ months. Well it found me again – in only two weeks. No-Way! So I’m back to square UNO! I was ahead of Smiley in the Accountability Wager now I’m about 4 lbs behind. UGH!

My vice – Stress! I’m an emotional eater and I let the emotions of finances get to me. It was my biggest baddest bump since I started the whole Healthy Life stuff thingy around two years ago.

Kind of got me thinking about one of my favorite movies…

Wendy: You just think happy thoughts. They lift you into the air.

Hook: Alas, I have no happy thoughts.

Wendy: That brings you down!

Me: And in my case, if your down, you weigh a ga-zillion more pounds than if your light on your feet and happy. I've been more like Hook for a couple of weeks and my kids will agree with all my unpleasantness.

I really need this whole Thankful Heart Month and it has helped. Kind of makes me shutter thinking where I’d be without it. Give me Happy Thoughts!

So I'm happy to report that I met with my Young and Gorgeous Counselor this week and am pretty sure that I can jump start the whole Accountability to the Max thing back to life.

Bring on the Happy Thoughts. No I'm not giving up and I'll track every crumb of food between now and the end of the year. I will make my dreams come true.

In other Fawndear news - No thrilling before and after pictures.

More like before and after tidy pictures. I now realize that I need to find a new home for the T.V.

The Piano would look much better without the big black thing on top of it. I need to work on shelf clutter too. As well as Floor clutter.

It might still get really messy after just a normal hour of my kiddo’s in there. But there are reasons for spaces and I’ll try and keep them task oriented.

From the picture you can see I moved my sewing station out of the dining room and set up my Elf Station in the family room so I could keep a better eye on the munchkins while I’m working.

I’ve lined up all my $1 day thrift store sale finds (sheets, slip-covers, curtains, and tablecloths), and they are more than ready for me to turn them into nightgowns for my girlies, a Christmas Tree Skirt or two, aprons, and a few other odd and end gifts. Can I tell you I’m Too-Excited about the whole thrift thing.

So I’ve got a new goal – Christmas in $100 or less. Don’t know if it’s possible but I’m going to try hard. The only thing I’m not including is special food for Christmas Dinner and postage to mail gifts to family. Because honestly, I expect postage to cost more than what I’m spending to make the gifts in the first place. (Sorry I’m so cheap this year guys!) So I guess I should rephrase and say Christmas Gifts in $100 or less. Wish me luck!

So my Christmas Countdown for this week:

1. Finish presents that will need to be mailed.

2. Start working on all the sewing crafts.

3. Focus on Happy Thoughts!