The Fair is a Veritable Smorgasbord...

The county fair is in town and, despite the Texas summer heat, we decided a day at the fair was just the thing to liven up a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The fair is a magical place. There is nothing quite like the merry-go-round's calliope music, smells of funnel cakes and cotton candy, popcorn, corn dogs, sounds of bells ringing and children laughing and the screaming as the rides whoosh and whirl.

Gracie and Annelie were caught up in the magic all afternoon and I have to admit I was, too.

Gracie has been to a few carnivals, which come to Austin at Christmas time, but Annelie was new to all of it, and was a little overwhelmed. My normally talkative daughter spent about three hours just looking all around with wide eyes as she took it all in.

Gracie was a little too brave for her britches. After clamoring for about 20 minutes that she wanted to go on the roller coaster, I finally said okay and off we went.

The roller coaster wasn't very big, but it was faster than my three year old expected it would be. She spent about 3 seconds laughing and 2 minutes screaming and crying, "I don't like this roller coaster! I want to get off!"

She enjoyed the twirly dragon ride a little more than the roller coaster.

And loved the fun house best of all, although she walked into every wall once inside the mirror room, and finally just went through the rest of the fun house with her eyes closed and her arms out in front of her.

After watching the judging of the cows, we decided that you can't have a fair without a funnel cake dusted with powdered sugar, so off we went.

Mmmmm.....

The most fun of all was hitting up the petting zoo for slimy cow kisses on our way out. Gracie and Annelie both held out their hands, filled with food pellets fit for a ... goat, and were thoroughly slobbered on by cows and donkeys.

Of course, you can't have a visit to a petting zoo without someone getting her shirt chewed on by a baby goat. Gracie was a little alarmed by the little goat tugging at her bow, but once the goat was happily back to eating out of her hand, Gracie was completely delighted.

With tongues blue from cotton candy, and two very tired children, we went home. Nothing quite like the fair to exhaust two active little girls!

What was an active day, very quickly became a peaceful night as the girls instantly crawled into bed and slept the whole night long.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Playing Around With Mixed Media Collages

Joy is a Flower that Blooms When You Do
~author unknown 5 x 7 collage

I have been itching to try my hands at altered art/mixed media collages for ages, but frankly they have scared the daylights out of me. I don't really know what I am doing, but I just love them so much that I decided to suck up the courage and give them a try.

I bought some collage sheets with some lovely vintage images from The Lady's Closet months and months and months ago, but have only just looked at them, not knowing what in the world I would do with them all. But this past weekend, I put my colored pencils away, and pulled out my paints (watercolors and acrylics) and ink pens and just had at it.

"Child of the unclouded brow
and dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet and I and thou
Are half a life asunder
Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy tale"
~Lewis Carroll 4 x 6 Collage

"How does one become a butterfly," she asked pensively.
"You must want to fly so much that you
are willing to give up being a caterpillar."
~Trina Paulus 5 x 7 Collage

"Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt
I love you"
~William Shakespeare 5 x 7 Collage

"Garden fairies come at dawn
Bless the flowers, then they're gone"
~author unknown 5 x 7 Collage

So, these are the ones I have done so far. Kinda strange. Like Mackenzie-Childs meets Teesha Moore sprinkled with fairy dust and butterfly wings... but hey, I'm a beginner. And I like fanciful things. And I had a lot of fun.

And I love them!

If you are thinking of making some altered art collages of your own, be sure to visit The Lady's Closet. You wont be disappointed! You can find a bajillion collage sheets and fabulous vintage items to make your collages straight-up fabulous.

These are two of the sheets that I have. Recognize any of the images?? I'm completely enamored with the one featuring the vintage girls (if you can't already tell). Maybe because they look so angelic and peaceful, when my two little terrors are from from it.

And if you are looking for some French vintage text... or some vintage Bingo cards to make your collages on, The Lady's Closet is the place to be. And if you have a fancy printer at home (which I don't), you can save the time and effort and go straight to Digital Collage Sheets which is their second shop, filled with even more lovely collage sheets that are in PDF digital download form. Nice and easy!

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Tantrums and Biting and Scratching, OH MY!

Once upon a time, Annelie was the poster child for the perfect baby. Minus the morning sickness, my pregnancy with her was heavenly. And when she was born, she was the cutest, quietest, sleepiest little baby, who never made a peep. I was probably the calmest and most well rested mother of a newborn who ever roamed the earth.

Lately, Annelie has become a scraggly little ragamuffin with a bad attitude. At 18 months old, she is a force to be reckoned with. Like a little tornado, she leaves no stone unturned, and is loud, opinionated and of the philosophy that all arguments can be settled with a cat-scratch of her claws across the face, or teethmarks on the arm. And, with the wisdom of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, any attention is good enough for her, even if it leaves Gracie crying and me yelling like a lunatic.

She wants things done. She wants things done her way... and she wants things done NOW! She has also learned that what goes up, must also go.... in her nose. How very scientific, and as a result, I am constantly pulling cereal, green beans, and toilet paper balls out of her nose, as well as desperately trying to remove the washable (are they really?) marker illustrations from her nostrils.

Ah, the joys of motherhood.

As for her hair.... "No cut, no cut!!!" she screams with the lung capacity of a hot air balloon. And as for me, I would rather not have my arms scratched off and the scissors jammed in my eyes as I fight for control, in order to trim her unruly bangs.

Little Annelie is a great communicator. She has understood language from a very early age and had always babbled to anyone and everyone as if she were baring the depths of her soul. Since the discovery of words, however, we have learned that the only things she would really like to tell us are:

"I want!" and "Me do it!" and "That's mine!." Not to mention, "Let me go!" and "No water! Want juice!"

And her favorite phrase of all times, one that is shouted and screamed about 12 hours a day...

"Help me, I'm STUCK!!!"

Now don't be completely alarmed. I have taught my daughter manners and some of them have stuck with her. She says "thank you" often (although it sounds more like "geek guck" but hey, at least I know what she is trying to say), and never hesitates to say "please" when she want something, although she is very persistent when I say no ("Pweeeeeeee! Pweeeeeeeee!" she shouts, as if she will get her way if she just screams it a little bit louder each time).

We've got about 6 more months until the blessed "Terrible Twos" begins.

Hurray. I can't wait.

I'm a huge fan of motherly wisdom and advice born from experience, so if you would like to leave some in my comments, please do!

And as for Annelie... I hope that one day she has a daughter just like her... because apparently, I have a daughter just like me.

xoxo,

A Super Cute Sugar Bowl and Some Unexpected Inspiration

When Gracie broke my sugar bowl a few months ago (if you are wondering if it broke because she was sneaking sugar and knocked it off the counter - well, you'd be right) I was disappointed for about 3.5 seconds.

You see, while I loved my little glass sugar bowl, I knew that I had the perfect excuse to request a custom sugar bowl from one of my favorite Etsy shops, Sweet Pickles Pottery.

And the lovely Melanie - Miss Sweet Pickles Pottery herself - was more than happy to indulge my every whim, and made me the cutest little sugar bowl ever. And when I opened up my package and pulled out my new sugar bowl, all I could think was The Queen of Hearts meets The Mad Hatter... and some unexpected inspiration was found for my new collection (still in sketch form, as well as floating around my head because there is a lot more inspiration to be had, and many more sketches to be made).

So, I'm excited to show off my latest sketches for a funky and fun Alice in Wonderland series, which I hope to complete some time in the next few months, once I get some custom orders finished up.

Lovely Miss Alice

The royal and regal Queen of Hearts

The Mad Hatter

The March Hare and the sleepy little Dormouse

If you are wondering where the Caterpillar, White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat are lurking... well those are still in my head. But I don't see them as snobs, so we shall see how those turn out!

And if you are looking to have a Mad Hatter's tea party of your own, well, this little girls tea set is just the perfect thing to have it with!

Too cute, right?

Gracie and Annelie, the lucky little girls, are going to be getting this tea set from Sweet Pickles Pottery for Christmas. They don't even have a clue how lucky they are! But I do and I can't wait.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Krause Springs and Baby Kisses

We went to Austin for the weekend, to visit friends and family. It is amazing how much my girls have grown and changed in the three months since we have been away from Austin.

Annelie has always been a bit reserved in groups, not talking until she gets home (and then she never ever stops). In the last three months, she has come out of her shell around other people and pretty much spent the whole weekend in conversation with whoever would listen to her 18 month old babble -- with only a few recognizable words thrown in.


We drove to Spicewood, which is about a half hour outside of Austin, to spend Saturday at Krause Springs with some friends for a birthday party.

Krause Springs is a natural spring fed swimming hole, and is absolutely beautiful. The water is cold, and, in the sweltering humidity that is Austin in the summer, completely refreshing.

The girls, who had only been in swimming pools before, were completely in love with the spring water. Gracie was even brave enough to swim under a waterfall and into a mossy, dark cave, which surprised me. What a brave little three year old!

After swimming, we gathered in the picnic area for barbeque and cake... and little Annelie fell in love. Our friend's son, Evan, is only a few months younger than Annelie. Annelie hadn't seen him in ages and was completely enamored with him. When she wasn't looking at him and babbling to him, she was leaning over and kissing him.

At first, little Evan returned her sentiment.
He even gave her a few baby kisses of his own.

But like most little kissy girls, Annelie took things a little too far. Eventually, Evan decided enough was enough and turned his cheek each time Annelie went in for the kiss.

And after she continued to persist, Evan began to cry.


I think I'll have to teach my girls a few things about playing hard-to-get.

If you ever find yourself in the Spicewood, Texas area, a visit to the park is a must. Camping is open year-round and the swimming areas are open in the summer months from 9am - dusk. You can find out more about the swimming hole and campground at www.texasoutside.com

Enjoy!

xoxo,

I'm a Finalist!!!

I've been jumping up and down (for joy) because Etsy announced the finalists for their Handmade Kids Challenge, which they have been talking about on their blog, The Storque for the last month and a half... and Elegant Snobbery made the cut!

I entered my Hello, Friend! 10 x 10 print and was so thrilled to see it amongst the 40 finalists in the art category.

The winners in each category win a $200 etsy shopping spree and everyone who votes in the contest is entered to win one of 14 $350 etsy shopping sprees! Woot woot!

If you are interested in voting, and you have an Etsy account, be sure to click this link!

http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?room_id=20

My competition is fierce, as there are 39 other wonderful pieces of art in my category, so be sure to vote for the one you love best. And if it is my print, well here is a great big huge

THANK YOU!!

xoxo,

There's a New Snob In Town: Meet Rose

"What a shame that my sister Lily can't be as lovely as me," Rose thought, as she admired her own grace and beauty.
---
The lovely Miss Rose should really think twice about comparing herself to her equally lovely sister. But never worry, she'll get her just desserts. No one likes a snob, after all.

Until I added the lovely Rose this afternoon, I haven't added a new snob to the shop since Elegant Snobbery opened last January. The original illustration belongs to my fabulous friend Casey of Fields of View Photography, who ordered Rose, as well as a soon-to-be sister snob called Lily (if you are imagining a lovely blonde, curly haired snob with a fabulous hair-do featuring a Stargazer Lily, well, you would be right) inspired by her daughters Anwyn Lily and Moya Rose.

I think Rose has a lovely sweet, yet snobby face.

With a garden filled with lavender roses (to match her hair, of course - shouldn't gardens always match one's hair?) and an ink butterfly flying about.

And I just love the sleeves with that fabulous beaded trim. I don't wear purple (makes my olive skin go sallow) but if I could wear it, I'd love a dress like this one.

So, despite the fact that this is a custom job and prints of custom orders don't end up in my shop (as they are for the buyer and the buyer alone to enjoy!) Casey and I have worked out that I'm going to have limited Rose and Lily illustrations in my shop and I'm very excited because I LOVE them! Well, I love the finished Rose and the sketch of Lily who will be finished this week.

So come on over to Elegant Snobbery and say hello to Rose, who can be found in 8 x 10 and 11 x 14 print sizes. She will probably ignore you, though, and consider herself well above the likes of you. She isn't the sweetest of snobs, despite her lovely face.

Enjoy!

xoxo,