Sunday, September 30, 2012

OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD!


Well, kind of. We are off to visit our little sweetheart today. She had the flu for 3 days and that is very hard on a 19 month old so Bella and Pa are going to bring her some treats and hugs. I will be back tomorrow with a Halloween Giveaway so for now here are some lovely Fall images for you to enjoy on this beautiful Autumn day.












Friday, September 28, 2012

Thanks again to everyone who came to the fundraiser for RESCUE DOGS MATCH.


 This is a little message for anyone in Southern Ontario who might know someone or could help out.

 If any of you know anyone who could FOSTER this lovely boy please get in touch with Brenda at 519-574-1743 and leave a message. Tyson is an adorable pup who was with a family with 5 kids who did not have time for him. All he needs is a FOSTER HOME until we can find him a forever home.



Tyson is a  Male Boxer/ Rhodesian Ridgeback Cross approx. 1 ½ yrs old Neutered; up to date with his shots; on Revolution for heartworm/flea prevention Tyson is fully house trained and stays home alone for 7.0 hours without incidents. He loves napping on fleece blankets. Tyson needs an experienced dog person. He is very loyal to his family members, loves kids and is very patient and tolerant with them. Tyson knows and responds to basic commands (i.e., sit, stay, come, etc.). He learns quickly and is very trainable … especially when there are tasty treats as a reward. Tyson is a very energetic and playful boy. He loves to play chase and play with water. Tyson would excel in a family that could provide him with lots of attention (i.e., long, unleashed walks, playing ball, etc.). He is an incredible runner and great jumper (does the boxer bouncy jump). He would do extremely well with agility courses/obstacle runs. Tyson has several toys, however, he’s particularly fond of his little red kong stuffed with peanut butter and treats. He’s entertained for hours!

 Feel free to text 519-574-1743

 I am just putting this out there in blogland and hoping for the best,

 Thanks, Sue.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

I BLINKED & AUTUMN WAS HERE!



It seemed like overnight everything has changed.





The countryside has turned from green and summer pastels to rich reds, golds and pumpkin oranges.

 



My mind is on Fall decorating, inside and out. Pumpkins, crows, harvest coloured corn and leaves everywhere.




I adore using pumpkins in my Fall decor. They are perfect because you can go from Autumn decorating to using them for Halloween. As you may remember from last Fall and Halloween, I discovered many different types of pumpkins. I love the white ones and cannot wait to use the Cinderella pumpkins this season.




I have also discovered these lovely handmade pumpkins which are suppose to be quite easy. I have seen them from recycled sweaters, velvet, burlap and now these cute grungy ones from PATTERN MART, you can buy the pattern online and get creative with whatever fabric you want.



So grab some of Nature's Harvest bounty, nuts, cranberries, apples, pumpkins, corn & leaves and fill your home with the jewel tones of the Fall Season.                                                                              



Oh, let us not forget the Autumn flowers.  Sunflowers and mums make gorgeous fall dislpays inside and out.   And enjoy some Fall Feasts outside too while the weather is still so lovely.                                                                                                                                            



Monday, September 24, 2012

THE GYPSY TEA & TAROT PARTY....A GREAT SUCCESS!



Finally, it was time for the party. After weeks of gathering goodies, some from me and many from a lot of lovely ladies on Etsy and Blogland, the baskets were made, the food was prepared and my studio was turned into...



...a Gypsy Tea Room!





It looked really magical and lovely. Daisy was exhausted after it was all put together. Rufus on the other hand, a typical male, was no where to be found.








I set each reader up in their own little corner for privacy. The tables looked great, I reused a lot of things I had made for our son Zach and Natasha's Alice In Wonderland Wedding Party, like the tableclothes, they gave everything a very whimsical feel.






We had lots of food, I am a big believer in more is better, you can always use it later but it is terrible if you run out. I came up with a new little goodie by mistake. I was making sweet turkey sausage tarts and they just did not look interesting enough so I put cranberry in the bottom, ground turkey with onion, and topped with turkey gravy. Voila! Turkey dinner in a tart.




We had some lovely Giveaways too. I wll thank everyone who contributed at the end of this post, but one lovely Etsy shop owner sent enough gorgeous earrings and phone charms with bags and Fairie Catchers to use in the Giveaways. I also had some nice red agate buddha necklaces, red agate pheonix pendants and spell candles with little pentagram charms I bought from the lovely Rosa of The Veil on Etsy and necklaces I made. Everyone loved their little giveaways. I had the guests write their names on the backs of their tickets which were quite large and fanned them out like a deck of cards while my lovely assistant, Natasha, picked the lucky recipients.




Everyone got a little gift when they left too. I ordered healing stones in their natural state ( Natasha said that was the purest way to have them work) and everyone got a healing stone in a little bag with the meaning on a thank you note and a card from DOGS RESCUE MATCH so hopefully people stop by for a visit and meet the pups.  And Brenda set up a lovely display for people to see the adopted babies and the ones still looking for forever families and volunteering information.  There will soon be a PayPal Button on the website so everyone can donate there too.  Every little bit helps.





The gift baskets turned out amazing. With the contributions from all of you lovely ladies, the great things Brenda brought and a nice basket our delightful Angel Card Reader, Allison, contributed, there were some incredible gifts. I had five witch themed baskets, one spa basket, two cooking baskets, which were actually together but the sweet lady who won them, Carol, donated one back.




We had two cute witch tins and the tickets for the witch baskets went into one and others went into the other tin so if you won you could choose the basket you wanted. Can you believe that my daughter-in-law, Natasha, who never wins anything, won 3 of the witch baskets. Of course the sweetie donated two back. For June we are doubling the amount of baskets because we will have more time to prepare and gather goodies.



Everything was absolutely wonderful with one little glitch. About an hour into the party, I plugged the kettle into the socket for tea, I already had a coffee maker in the other socket, and the power in the studio blew. I panicked because the same thing happened at the Wedding Party only it kept happening all night. My husband and son had just left with our granddaughter to visit my brother-in-law and I rushed to see if it was the breaker and it did not work. Being the good witch that I am I always have an abundance of candle. I grabbed everyone I had all over the house and lit the studio with candlelight. Thank goodness everyone was so understanding and it gave a mystical glow to the room. The wonderful readers, Brenda, Unity and Allison were able to start their readings until my husband came back, thank goodness he was not far yet. Problem was corrected, thanks honey, and the evening went off without a hitch.



  • And we raised a total of $815.00.  I think that is pretty amazing for our first time.


  •  Thank you all so much, this was a group effort and I truly could not have done it without all of you and my patient husband and my furry babies Luca, Stella, Layla, Rufus and Daisy who did not get all of my attention for a few weeks but they will get lots of love and hugs now.



As you can see, we all just sat by the fire yesterday and enjoyed the day. We are already preparing for June but right now all that is on my mind is............HALLOWEEN!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!!!!!!!

I will put a full post on later today to show you all the GYPSY TEA & TAROT PARTY but I just wanted to let you all know quickly that it was a barking success. We have some very tired Gypsies this morning, I am sure, because the Tarot and Angel Card volunteers went above and beyond last night.
There are some happy pups today, Daisy and Rufus got to meet some people too and of course everyone loved them. I am going to go now and try to wake up a little more. I have lots of pictures & lots of thank yous for later so stay tuned.

Friday, September 21, 2012

COUNTDOWN!

Well just 2 days left until the GYPSY TEA & TAROT PARTY. I spent all day baking and cooking for the night.
Daisy and Rufus were a big help today cleaning the floor and they have been great in the studio not moving a muscle while I clean around them. So sweet. I will be incredibly busy until after the Party so I won't have time to post. I will take lots and lots of pictures and do a large post on Sunday. Wish us luck, hope we raise a lot for the pups.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

IT'S COMING!


Well ladies it is just four more days until my GYPSY TEA & TAROT PARTY. It really came upon me fast. Lots of cleaning to be done today, the studio is in chaos because I have been working on Halloween things for my Shop.


Soon my home will be filled with 35 wonderful witchy women (and a few men!) We will be enjoying a magical evening around the fire ( it is suppose to get cool so first time using the woodstove this year). Cards will be read, stories will be shared and lots of fun to be had, I can't wait.


The Fall Goddess came to visit yesterday. A little early but still welcome.


It doesn't look like this yet in Jerseyville but there are red and gold leaves on the ground this morning.


I am kind of glad fall is raising resting here already because it will make Saturday even more magical.


So stay tuned my lovelies and send me some energy because I still have a lot to do.



Sunday, September 16, 2012

AUTUMN APPLES!


I was sitting upstairs today with all of the windows open because it is a glorious sunny day. All of a sudden this wonderful smell came wafting into the room.


The unmistakable aroma of Autumn Apples tingled my senses in the most delightful way.


Unless you live in farm country you cannot really imagine what that smells like. There are orchards all around our area and when the apples ripen and fall on a sunny, breezy day like this the scent surrounds you.


This is the last official week of summer and although the sun may still be very warm Fall is upon us and apples are the first Fall Harvest we get to enjoy.


When the days are a little cooler I love to make apple pies. The house is filled with the heavenly scent of baking, but not just any baking, Autumn Baking.


So as our summer slowly comes to an end I open my arms wide to welcome the Goddess of the Harvest. Bring me your ripe, red and golden apples and I shall bake you a pie!