Owls!

They are fluttering about in my Etsy shop right now! And Ben and I are headed off to Canada...see you in a week! :)

Look who just metamorphosed!

Ok...remember the other day when I mentioned that I had a caterpillar who spun himself a cocoon in my studio? I thought it was going to turn into the pretty white butterfly in the photo above.

But instead...he turn into this...

Still beautiful in my opinion, but not whimsical in a princess-like fluttering in a meadow type way...but more like in a whimsical deep in the woods hiding under a tree stump sort of way.

You're probably wondering why I had a caterpillar in my studio in the first place. Well...when I left my parent's house the other week I took a whole bunch of veggies from their garden home with me. Of course we aren't the only ones who love broccoli and I had to pick off some little green cabbage worms (they look like worms but they're really caterpillars). I kept the largest one and fed him little bits of broccoli for a few days until he was big and fat enough to make the big change. There are several types of cabbage worms and since I saw the white butterflies hanging around the broccoli plants in the garden, I thought that's what little Mr. Worm was. Nope! He's a Cabbage Moth...not a Cabbage Butterfly...from what I understand at least.

I don't regret hatching him and I'll soon let him outside to lay eggs on someone else's broccoli! Ok ok, I live in the city where no one really grows broccoli...so he'll have to find some other plant to invest in. :)

Fresh Faces in my Etsy Shop!

That's right! I've got a few newbies that I'll be listing in my Etsy shop within the next few days. They make their debut here! The girls above are my favorites. Check them out before they're gone! :)

Is that gal in the middle a ballerina or a kung foo fighter? Poor gray kitty...even her flag says "I'm scared!" And I promise...that photo was unintentional! lol

And these cute kitties are a bit of a new concept. Domestic kitties and jungle cats unite to make hand painted patterned cat girls.

Of course the everyday whimsy needn't be ignored! The blue butterfly and classic moth girl are always in good spirits, not spooky spirits. :)

And these gals are a little bit of an every day take on my patriotic circus performers.

I hope you'll check them out. Some are posted now and some will be posted within the next few days. If you see one you can't live without, just let me know and I'll try to post it sooner. :)

Treasures from New York

A few of you were interested to see what treasures I found at the flea market when I was in NY. And I'm more than thrilled about the enthusiasm! I'm like one of those crazy collectors who will keep unsuspecting house guests hostage for hours showing off my vast collections while my poor visitors look at their watches and try to politely interject with creatively thought out excuses for why they need to "head out". Luckily...in this format you have a choice and there's no need for interjections of any kind. :) Enjoy!

I love celluloid and these cuties fit the bill. And the first photo is proof of the luck I had at the antique fair my mom and I sifted through in finding vintage miniatures. My little miniature shelf is officially full...so these tiny guys will have to wait until we move back to NY next year and I have room to put up my additional miniatures shelves. A few of them are actually charms...so those will give my charm bracelet just a little more charm.

I didn't know the devil could be so cute! I usually don't fall for super cutesy things...but these little demon babies stole my heart! Their tarnished silver tritons are removable and just plain cool.

Seems like every group of goodies I come up with produces at least one flowered hat. The white ones are my favs...perfect for wedding cake toppers!

In addition to the antique fair...I also visited my favorite little thrift shop run by the little old ladies. These aren't the greatest Christmas finds ever...but I bought them mostly to take apart and use as craft supplies. The two little bears will make great gift ties this Christmas.
These will make great gift ties as well! You know...a little something extra to add to outside of a present.

These knitted hats are too big to dress up my spun cotton figures with...but I just couldn't pass them up for a quarter!

I'll use the white birthday candles for birthday themed spun cotton cuties. I've been finding several of those adorable tin eggs lately...a few more and I'll actually have a good collection going. And it's hard to find Saint Patty's Day goodies, so I was super glad to find this neat pin.

These German paper mache turkey candy containers just might be the find of the week! They were $10 for the pair...a real steal. Again...it's just as hard to find Thanksgiving items as it is Saint Patty's Day things. I did pass on an awesomely adorable snowman candy container that at another booth that was going for $150. :( A bit too steep for this gal's pocket book!

Some more random crafting materials from the thrift store...

I was running low on the Spanish moss I use for my birds in a tree cake topper...mostly because I've also been lining my house plants with it as well. So I was happy to find a bag at the thrift store. I also found a bow maker for a buck, so I thought I'd give that a try. And I don't have any knitting needles so I thought I should keep some handy for when I get the itch to try and learn how...they were only 50 cents.

I don't know what I'm going to do with these big thick plastic stars...but I like them!

More crepe paper. Stocking up on black and orange for Halloween is key!

And maybe it was wrong of me to buy these...but I couldn't help it. I actually already have this vintage bisque circus set. Except I didn't have the guy riding a horse (in the back to the left of the giraffe) and the price was really good. I might sell some of them...but for now they all have twins!

I have a thing for deer and fawns...maybe because my middle name is Fawn. This Lake George souvenier was too neat to pass up.

And finally...I have a large milk glass collection and I've been selective about what new pieces I buy. This fan shaped vase will create a great effect with tulips or mums.

Not too shabby for a little bit of New York treasure hunting. :)

Look who was just born!

Ok...maybe "hatched" is more accurate, but I'm so happy! I don't know if I've ever mentioned my button quails before...but I had three of them. Two males and a female, Willow, Tabitha and Blackie. From what I've read it's quite uncommon for captive hens to lay on their eggs...but Tabitha was feeling quite broody and decided to sit on 5 eggs...4 of which hatched the night before last!

And it seems we have a black sheep in the family! I'm pretty sure that one is going to be a male (he's already got the telltale "bib" coloration) and he's very spunky!

And did I mention that button quails are TINY! They are the smallest poultry bird on earth and the full grown quails are barely bigger than just hatched chickens...meaning the quail babies are the size of large bumble bees! And fluffy too. Their parent's live in a large fish tank in our living room.

I've wanted to post about my quails for some time now (I've had them for a year and a half) but they are so hard to photograph. They move all the time and even the babies prove this to be true (plus my camera is kinda junky). This is the non-blurriest photo of a single baby I managed to take.

Mom is peeking her head out from behind her cardboard "lean-to". She's a very good mom.

Here are the best photos of mom and dad I managed to snap. You can see mom is a brownish blur in the photo of dad. Blackie is very pretty with chocolate brown feathers on his underside and black toenails, a "fancy" variety. Tabitha is more run of the mill.

These are some of Tabitha's eggs sitting in a container next to regular quail eggs, which are small themselves. I often use them in the spun cotton and wool nests I make.

I am so pleased that Blackie and Tabitha decided to have a family! If you happen to live in the Boston area and would like some pet quails...the babies will be full grown in just a few weeks!

And in other animal news...I have a caterpillar in my studio who just spun himself a cocoon. I wonder when he will emerge as a butterfly?!

A couple of newbies...

I'd like to introduce Garden Gal and Blue Babe! These one of a kind pieces were just posted in my Etsy shop and are currently looking for new homes!

I'm on a little week long vacation right now visiting my family in NY. It's so nice to be with them and there's always something peaceful, pretty or exciting going on! Tomorrow morning we're leaving for Moosewood...the hunting lodge that's tucked away in the Adirondack Mountains. The place we've been going to since way before I was born! The place where you have to get the water from the creek with buckets and walk outside to the outhouse in the middle of the night. I love it!

I'll be back in the studio on Tuesday...hopefully with a few pretty photos from Moosewood. See you then! :)