Mosaic Cottage

Some of my Favorite Mosaic Projects are....

the ones where I get to preserve family memories. My dear friend, Diane, gave me some of her grandmother's china that she had broken and asked me to add some to an existing mirror she had and then she wanted me to create a mosaic box for her out of the remaining pieces.

Here is what I made for her with a sack of broken china

 

The mirror is edged with simple white edge pieces from the china. I didn't want to add too much color to the mirror, as Diane displays this mirror on a shelf with lots of other creamy white pieces. BTW, her home is Fabulous!!!!

I used the rest of the china and a little of my own on this cigar box. Diane LOVES boxes!!

For interest, I added the porcelain pink rose, some beads and vintage jewelry. That little 3 pearl piece on the front of the box (see above) is an old vintage earring that I snapped the back off of.

 

I also decoupaged the inside of the box with some decorative paper and some old book pages

So, like I said, some of my favorite mosaic projects are those where I get to preserve family memories. Grandma's china can now be looked at and cherished everyday. If it were still in plate form, it would probably be tucked inside some cabinet or china hutch.

Do you have some broken china from a dear relative that you just can't part with??? Make a project out of it or send it to me and I'll make something for you. This way, the fond memories of our loved ones are always in sight :-)

Okay, this is completely off the subject, but have you seen these cloches or bell jars or whatever you call them at Michaels???

I think they have 3 different sizes and they are on clearance. I like them so much that I'm going to go buy some more. They make the cutest cupcake cover. Just another dimension to add to your displays. At first I put it onto a plate (see above) but I think I like it better without the plate

 

What do you think??

I've made a few purchases lately on Etsy and in Blogland and I'll share those with you in my next post. What can I say??!! This girl is trying to HELP the economy!!! :-)

Hugs!

Michelle

p.s. The Garden Fairy House is turning out FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So Exciting!!!!

An Adventure of the Grandest Kind

Grand Canyon Kind that is!!!

 

I have lived in Arizona for 14 years and this is my first trip to see the Grand Canyon and it's only about 4 hours from my house. I'm so glad I finally made it here!!!! Of course, I've seen a zillion pictures of it, but they do not do it justice as the real deal. I thought the same thing about the Eiffel Tower. I wasn't really interested in seeing it, as I had seen a ton of pictures of it. However! When I first laid eyes upon it, I'm sure anyone in close proximity, heard me gasp with delight.

What a BEAUTY she is!!! This Grand Canyon. It's a reminder to appreciate the simple things in life. Like Nature and all it has to offer.  It's also a reminder that we MUST take care of this precious land we live on and not take it for granted.

 

I can't imagine living a life without views like this

or this

or this

or this

Mother Nature is Glorious isn't she!!! :-)

We made a weekend out of our adventure. We meaning, Me, the Hubby and Daughters #3 & #4.

We actually camped out. We haven't done that in forever....well, the hubby does it all the time with his buddies, but we girls haven't camped out for a long while. Here is the luxury suite that the girls and I stayed in...

We lovingly refer to it as the Tin Can :-)

The hubby slept in here...

as he snores VERY Loudly! Plus, the Tin Can was already tight quarters for the 3 of us and the hubby really doesn't mind sleeping in a tent. He actually had a really nice cot in there with a mattress, so not roughing it too much.

I think breakfast cooked outdoors is the BEST! (I'm usually a cereal girl in the morning)

Oh, I forgot to mention that the pugs came with us too. They really are not into roughing it....especially Trixie...

The weather was so WONDERFUL!! We camped in the Pines and Aspens..

with wonderful wild flowers growing every where...

This stump looks like the perfect place for a woodland creature or fairy to hang out...

With skies like this...

and a few sprinkles of this..

It was a positively FABULOUS weekend!!!! 

Grand Canyon checked off my list of places I must see. Yellowstone National Park is next. I lived in Wyoming for 30 years and never visited AND we have a cabin that is only about 3 1/2 hours away. I know!!! Brother!!!!!

Thanks for letting me share with you!!!! I hope your weekend was Fabulous as well!!!!!!

Hugs!

Michelle

p.s. Thank you sooooo much to everyone for all of the helpful Kitty advice!!!!!! :-) You guys Rock!

Hello Kitty at the Crazy Farm

That's the name I've given her.....Kitty. I know, kind of unoriginal, but it just happened that way.

You see, she's really not my cat. She lives behind my bushes in the front yard. I had seen her running through my front and back yard since last winter and had assumed that she belonged to one my neighbors that let their cats out to roam the neighborhood (I don't like that, btw) and poo in everyone else's yard. (one of my neighbors doesn't own any animals and her backyard is a nightmare with cat poo!) Anyway, about a month ago, on one of our very hot 114 degree days, I noticed Kitty laying behind my bushes. When I started to shoo her away, she stood up and noticed how THIN she was. That's when I realized that she didn't have an owner and my heart was just broken seeing her condition. She didn't even want to run away. I hurried inside to get water and dog food (that's all I had...except for fish food) and when I brought it outside and stepped back a bit, she went right to the food and ate and ate and ate. Matter of fact, I brought her out another bowl and she ate it all too.

I called the Humane Society about her and they are totally overwhelmed right now. They said they are receiving 200 cats and dogs a DAY. It seems that with all of the home foreclosures going on right now, people are abandoning their animals like crazy. So Sad. They said that if they came and got her, she would probably be put down. I said NEVER MIND. I can't have that. So, I bought cat food. I've never owned a cat in my whole life. I don't even know how to interact with cats. Kitty has warmed up to me though. She comes to me when I feed her and rubs herself along my legs and tells me such sweet meow~meow stories. So, now I am the owner of a cat that lives behind my bushes.  Did I mention that I'm allergic to cats??? :-) 

Isn't she cute?? She's looking pretty healthy now! ( I could use any advice at all on cats from you cat owners :-)

Speaking of animals......this is Bruiser. Bruiser belongs to one of my neighbors and I was taking care of him while they were on vacation. You can't tell from this picture, but I had his "condo" halfway inside the house and halfway out as I was trying to coax him into it, in order to get him back inside the laundry room. There's even a little snack towards the back of the "condo".

Well, I don't know if you can tell from this pic, but there are BIG growls coming from such a little guy. Bruiser, you see, is not very nice! He will even try to bite you! It took me about 30 minutes of trickery before I actually captured him. WHEW!! Ummmmm, could someone please call Cesar Millan, the dog whisperer?? I think Bruiser needs some help.

Does this ever happen to you??????

You go to download your pics from your camera and you find that your kids have been up to some trickery of their own!!! :-) They do this to me often. Tooooo Funny!!!!!!

I hope you all have a FABULOUS weekend!!!! I'm going on an Adventure!!!! I'll share the details when I return.

Hugs!!!!

Michelle

Monsoons and this and that

It's Monsoon storm time here in Arizona right now, which means that we desert dwellers, who rarely see rain, are running outside to capture even the slightest hint of precipitation falling from the skies. I kid you not! Matter of fact, while in the check-out lane at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, one of the baggers said it's raining outside. Well, you would have thought he said money was falling from the sky, as customers started grabbing their groceries, baggers were actually asking to assist the customers to their cars with their groceries and the clerks were asking the managers if they could take turns to run outside to witness this miracle of.........................SPRINKLES!!!! Nope, no real rain. Just the kind of rain that dirties up your car with little droplets. It was over in a matter of a couple of minutes. But still, we who live here, know that it is a signal of more  to come and we welcome it!!!!

On the 4th of July, the hubby and I decided to take our little boat onto Tempe Town Lake. We would fish a little and then watch the fireworks show above the bridge later on. It was really hot out! Maybe 108 degrees?? You can see ASU stadium from the lake.

There are all kinds of new building going on around this lake. You see, it used to be a dry riverbed in the middle of town used for Monsoon water runoffs and then a few years ago, the mayor of Tempe, came up with idea of putting water in it and now it has become quite the attraction. Lots of high rises and fancy condos are being built and they are very EXPENSIVE!!!

What a boost for this area and added beauty too!

So, we fished for awhile this day and then a couple of hours before the fireworks were to start, this started rolling in...

See that Grey matter to the left?? Monsoon Storm coming fast. We started heading to the dock, which was only 10 minutes away (if that) and by the time we got there, the wind and dust was blowing very hard and then lightning! Yep, time to leave. No need to be near water when lightning is near. So, no fireworks show for us, but it was an exciting day anyway.

For a week now, we've been blessed with so much rain. More rain came down in one storm this last week, than all of our storms combined of last year! And more are coming. There has been flooding and some scary moments, but it has just been BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!! Oh, and it smells wonderful!! The rains bring out little creatures that we don't normally see. We found this little guy in the wrong place.

Yep, that's the pool. Once he found his way in, he couldn't get out. So, I reached in and pulled him out.

This is a Spade-foot frog. They live underground most of the time and only come up when it rains, where they then look for a mate, eat as many bugs as they can and then go back underground until the next time.

  

I put him near the pond and he happily jumped in, however, I don't think he was too happy with the Mosquito eating fish, as I think they were nibbling at him. Hopefully he'll find a hole to be happy in away from the pool.

In the studio, I'm busy working on the new home for the Garden Fairies. This is no easy job, as they are quite the demanding ones! They are asking for all kinds of fancy~shmancy decor. Hopefully, I will have it done soon, as the large doses of rain are creating quite the cramped quarters for the birds and fairies together. Goodness! So, on that note, I'd best get into that studio and get to work! :-)

Hugs!

Michelle

Magical Give~Away

In my Mad Hatter Post, I said that I would draw a name for a magical prize. 

This is a very special magical prize. It is so special, it comes in it's own special box.

Inside this special box, lies the KEY to the Secret Door in the Enchanted Garden. Only those who BELIEVE in the Magic and Fairies and all things Enchanted can be a Keeper of such a Magical Key.

So, close your eyes and twirl around 3 times and trust in the Magic of all things Enchanted.......

The Keeper of the Key is Contance of Rochambeau! You must be a BELIEVER Constance!!!

Oh Butterfly

A butterfly's sole life purpose is to recreate to maintain life~

The Butterfly counts not months, but moments, and has time enough~ 

by Rabindranath Tagore

The Butterfly ~  the miracle ~ the end ~ the beginning ~

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun

And find your shoulder to light on,

To bring you luck, happiness and riches

Today, tomorrow and beyond.

IRISH BLESSING

  

Delight in the beauty of the butterfly........

Have a good one!

Michelle

p.s. just a reminder that my Mad Hatter characters will be added to my etsy this week :-) (Hard to let go of these!)

Mad Hatter's Tea Party.......Mosaic Cottage Style!

Hopefully, I can get through this post, as Typepad has now knocked me off 4 times!

Okay, first I'd like to give a Big Thank You to Miss Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist for hosting this fabulous tea party! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun!!!!!!!!!! Hugs to you Miss Vanessa!

Please accept my apology for being late this morning. You see, when I went to gather my tea party supplies this morning, they were missing! I thought to myself, where could they be, they were just here last night. I started searching...then frantically searching.....with no success. This was causing me much distress as I was looking so forward to sharing a spot of tea with you all. I decided to go outside and get some fresh air so that I could calm myself and that's when I heard it. Little whispers. These little whispers were like no other whispers I had heard before, so I decided to investigate......

I think it's coming from behind the gate..........

Who could be in my garden?????

What the??? I discovered where the little whispers were coming from! AND I also see where my tea party supplies went.....

Ummmmmm, Hello?? What is going on here?? I asked. Well, it seems that word got out about the tea party I was planning and well, these little characters were feeling a bit left out, as I had forgotten to invite them. I am so sorry, where are my manners, yes, of course, you can come to the tea party. (Did I have any other choice....they took my tea servings......shhhhhhhh, I don't want them to hear me talking about them)

 

How did you hear of my tea party I asked. The Garden Fairies told us they exclaimed.

 

Well, Hello Garden Fairies!! I see that you came with your very own cupcakes!!

Remember this?? It has since found a new home.....

but, I guess I wasn't dreaming after all.............

Well, who's all here I asked? The Mad Hatter, of course, and the March Hare. Then there is Alice, who came as a cake (this is one crazy party, I thought) where she sits upon a mosaic table. Did I mention that they set their tea party up in my china gravy boat!? What is in that tea???

  

The White Rabbit also showed up. He kept checking the time and going on and on about this and that, so the others gave him a little cupcake to eat, hoping it would occupy his time and keep him quiet for awhile. I think he's sitting in a sugar bowl or a soup tureen.

Are those mushrooms growing out of my creamer??? Check out the little mosaic mushroom....so cute!

The Caterpillar also showed up, but he brought his hookah, and this is a no smoking party, so they made him sit below, on the big mosaic mushroom, in the smoking section.

He didn't seem to mind.

The Queen of Hearts came and I'm not sure if she was invited, but they gave her a spot of tea anyway.

She made sure that the key to the secret door in the tree was safe, by hanging it around her neck. Hey, I wouldn't want to take that key from her. She's not looking awfully chummy.

The birds were in attendance also, but not to drink tea. It seems that they had a bone to pick with the fairies, as the fairies have moved into the mosaic birdhouse that I built for them (below) and have just taken over the place. (They've even taken over the bird bath for this tea party) I mentioned to the fairies that I would build them a Fairy House of their very own soon, if they would please let the birds have their home back. Agreed! I'd better get on this project. I don't want any fights in my peaceful garden!

So, no tea for you and no tea for me, but I hope you enjoyed the Mad Hatter's Tea Party at the Mosaic Cottage anyway!!

 

Make sure you leave a comment, as I will be having a drawing for a magical prize !! :-)

Hugs!!!!

Michelle

p.s. I may put some of the above items in my shop this coming week.

So Much to tell....

Have you ever had one of those days where for each step forward you take, you end up taking two steps backward???? Well, that is what the month of June has been for me. Have you heard me screaming to the universe UNCLE ALREADY!!!?? I won't bore you with the details, as I already threw my TRENCH adventure at you in the previous post.....oh, and by the way, Thank You to those who cheered me on and made me feel a little bit better about that nasty situation...It really did help! :-)

 Some good news. I am all caught up on my wholesale orders. YAY!!! It's funny how they all always come in at the same time. LOL! So, on that note, please pay a visit to the shops that sell my mosaics and tell them Michelle sent you. I'm sure they would really appreciate it. Here's a few of the cupcakes that are on their way....

Yep, that's the butterfly that needs finished that they are sitting on. It will be finished this week.

I also just finished up a flower pocket that I just listed in my Etsy. Here's a pic.

     

So, June hasn't been ALL BAD. I mean, when the owner of these shoes and those legs show up, all you can do is be HAPPY...

 

Yep, my little Fashion Diva Grandbaby (and her mom) came to visit for a week. Look Grandma! My shoes match your bench! :-)

It's a good thing we got the pool pump fixed!! With temps around 113 degrees, some pool time is just what everyone needed...

Well, almost everyone liked it. It took the little one some time to get used to the pool and her new dragon float toy.....but not too long....ooooooh, purple plastic. Note: notice pierced ears. Grandma was not too happy about that!

Mama and Grandbaby went home yesterday :-( 

So, since June has been so crazy for me, I decided that I needed some FUN! Especially when I popped over to Miss Vanessa's blogand saw that she was having a Mad Hatter's Tea Party to celebrate her 200th post. A whimsical fun tea party is just what I need!!! Do I have the time for this?? No, but I'm going to make time!! :-)

So, come back and visit me on the 28th and see how I plan to celebrate with Miss Vanessa. This should be loads of FUN!!!!

Oh, before I forget. I need to mention how wonderful some of the people are that I meet in blogland and through my website and so on. A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from a sweet gal named Lori who lives in the same area as I do. She noticed that I use vintage jewelry in some of my pieces and said that she had a box that she would like to GIVE ME. Can you believe that?? Well, we met up at a coffee shop in the area (her hubby was there too) and she gifted me some wonderful items!! This is just a little bit of what she gave me....

How cool is that!!! Well, the story doesn't end there. After talking for a bit, we discovered that she had gifted me once before. It was years ago, when I had the shop. Her and her hubby had brought me a box of vintage china. (I kept thinking she looked familiar!) Isn't that just crazy??? AND LUCKY FOR ME!!!!! Thank You so much Lori!!!! You are a doll!!!!

Okay, now that I have blogged for what seems to be forever, I will say goodbye and wish you a very happy week!!! See you on the 28th!!!!

Hugs!

Michelle

Sometimes Life Kicks You in the..........But then there are Sweet Kisses

Yep, this last week, life has definitely kicked me in the hiney. First, the pool pump stops working. After paying to have it repaired, it still doesn't work. After many hours of investigation, I find out that the power from the fuse box to the pool pump is not working and I need new wiring. The problem doesn't stop there, as the old wiring cannot be removed from the old pipe underground, as the pipes are damaged. I now need new pipe and new wiring, which means a new trench must be dug. This will cost THOUSANDS of dollars to have repaired UNLESS...........................................I start digging......and digging is what I did. I dug for DAYS, from one side of the house to the other and about 18 inches deep. Oh, did I mention that the temperature was about 105 plus!!!! By the end of the week, I was almost in tears. I think it was exhaustion.

Here's a couple of views of my handy work...

 

So, since I was feeling a bit blue, I decided I needed some Sweet Kisses.....

Fish Kisses that is! Click below

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I'm happy to announce that the ugly work is all done and everything is working good. I'm a bit behind on my mosaic work now, but I'll be working hard this week to catch up. TODAY, however, I'll be recovering. :-)

See you soon!

Michelle

 

 

My Enchanted Garden

Well, that's what I like to call it. When I was a child, I would look through my mom's Better Homes and Gardens magazines and dream of having a garden like the ones in the pictures. There was something magical to me about some of those gardens and gazing at the pictures brought a sense of peace to me. My garden now, brings peace to me. Whenever I'm feeling frazzled or upset, I will go outside and walk or sit in my garden. I will sometimes sit by the pond and watch the fish blow me kisses (this is what I call it) as they eagerly beg for food. I watch the hummingbirds take a drink from the fountain and chase each other playfully as the other birds bathe in the wine barrels filled with water. I look for new blooms on all of my plantings and smile when I find one. I watch the lizards as they sunbathe on the hot block walls. These things bring me absolute JOY! Nature is such wonderful gift. So, I try to gift back by tending and planting and appreciating every piece of my garden. It truly is Enchanting to me. Therefore, I name it The Enchanted Garden. Come and take a stroll with me..........

 

Well, there is some of the garden. I haven't shown you the Secret Garden yet. It's a work in progress AND I had to dig a huge trench through it this last weekend due to a power outage in the pool pump. Still working on that!  Someday soon, I'll take you on a stroll through it. I also have the edible garden that the hubby USED to tend to, but has now gotten bored with, so I now must find the time to get it into shape. Of course, I will wait until the very HOT summer of Arizona is done. I'm wanting to build some sort of shade structure over it and of course I'm thinking of the vines that I could plant along the structure. This may happen over the summer after all.....I'm not afraid of that crazy heat ;-)

Okay, back to work.....have a wonderful rest of the week!!!

Hugs!

Michelle