Once upon a Time, there was a Princess Fairy who lived in a tall tower in Fairy Land. From the window she would wave her magic wand over all the people of the Land which would sprinkle them with magical wishes.
Aaaand … back here in the real world….
Maaaaany years ago – at least 10 but probably around 15 to be honest, Daughter No.2 bought me a Birthday card which was just a total delight to me. It was like all of a sudden my daughter ‘got’ me. She saw a card so perfect for my birthday that going against everything that I’ve always taught my girls (buying cards is just such an expense – yes you have to purchase one, but don’t spend half a weeks wages on one!), she spent a little fortune on.
Now, I keep greetings cards. All types. For Birthdays or just for ‘Hello I thought of you and am sending you this‘ types of card. I’m very much into the whole physical memories of something, and will keep cards and little mementoes for ever! I have a drawer in my craft room where I’ve kept cards from years gone by and every now and then I get them out just to make me feel wonderful. Each one holds a special memory, and a ‘trick’ to get that memory from the back of my mind so that I can enjoy the moment all over again. And there, in that drawer is a humongous card – very very tall but not very wide, – which I have cherished from the moment Daughter No.2 gave it to me. Here it is . . .
It’s about (guessing here) 18″ – 22″ tall. (I should have measured it and I didn’t think. I’m not tip toeing over to the craft room now because it’s belting down with rain outside!). You can now see why I’m showing you this card. It has a picture of Fairy Land on the front and I just loved it from the moment I opened the envelope. When I saw it in the drawer I instantly thought I’d have a go at turning it into a tiny ATC of 2.5inches wide by 3.5 inches tall.
(yes, that photo was taken in my craft room)
Some of you might remember me telling you that I taught my little girls, when they were knee-high to an ant, that if anyone should ask them how old their mommy was, they were to say …. “My Mommy is ONLY 27″ … and I have remained 27 since I was 27. Each year Daughter No.2 remembers this and sends me a birthday celebrating my 27th Birthday. Have a look inside this card .. . . .
… ah… you’ll need that blown up a little to read it …..
Her name has been removed (to protect the innocent) …. she writes: “To Mom, have a great (27th) Birthday! Have fun, love and snuggles ______ x“. I thought that since I was using the picture on the card as my inspiration for a little watercolour for World Watercolour Month, I might as well share the inside of the card so that you can see that I trained my girls sooooooo well! LOL
Anyhoo … back to this little watercolour. This one was a real struggle. It’s difficult to go into detail when you’re reducing something to a ridiculous size like this, so I had a real problem with the Princess Fairy. I perhaps, in hindsight, should have left her out – as I did the shutters on the windows (not enough room to keep them in).
I couldn’t make my mind up on the mount … green or blue? You choose and tell me what you think …
… Green? … OR ….
… Blue? Each one brings out something different. The Blue one brings out the shooting star and seems to make the colours just a little more vivid. Where-as the Green mount makes it look more subtle and … ‘fairyfied’. OOoo… choices, choices!
And that’s all there was to it!
We have an almighty storm going on here as I type. The thunder is so loud that it’s making the dog bark and me jump. It’s pelting down with rain and I’m thinking that all my flowers are going to get a right old bashing!
I’m not entirely surprised that the weather has changed like this. It’s been far too hot for it to continue without some sort of storm cooling things down. (although I don’t feel any cooling down happening at the moment. I’m still boiling hot!) I feel dreadfully sorry for the county next but one to where I live … Cornwall. They’ve had some awful flash floods there today (Tuesday) and they’ve had to go out in helicopters and rescue folks who have been trapped in their houses by rising waters. I watched it on the TV news at 6pm and it looked awful!
Well… that’s me done and dusted. I’m now going to schedule this post to happen in the early hours of (UK time) the morning, and I’m then taking myself to bed and taking the wee little chubby doggy with me.
Whatever you’re doing today do it with a smile on your face and hope in your heart. To prove to yourself exactly how blessed you are, imagine that you woke up this morning only with the things that you gave thanks for yesterday. Puts things into order does that little thought.
Sending you love, and a bucket of squidges which should last you all day long … 
The Art of Cobwebs 