Thursday, January 27, 2011

Are you ready for the Big Bunny Party ?


Chinese New Year is around the corner... just about a week away !

It will debut on the first New Moon in February... I've been cleaning up a storm at my house because it is 'traditional' to get all of the old year cleared 'out' before welcoming in a new year. I'm making good progress !

This year, the world will be celebrating in the streets with giant articulated hares... that's right, its gonna be one giant bunny party because 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit... So... are you ready for the big bunny party, yet ?

All is quiet with Twilight's local hare population. January is a time for pruning the apple trees here... I'm also getting ready for Imbolc, the cross quarter sabbat between Winter Solstice & Spring Equinox. I love this time of year... and look forward to doing my devotional work with Brigit, including making Brizel's apple wood Brigid Crosses.

Most of the smaller apple wood branches that have buds at their tips get cut to size and put aside to dry for next year's crosses whilst the remaining wood gets pruned for Brizel's Gourmet Gnawer Chew Sticks. Most pet rabbits, chinchillas, & rodents love them and it is truly awesome for these city animals to have fresh organic chews to munch on.

This year, I've created a new listing just for them...

The Blessed Bunny Bundle !

"This Blessed Bunny Bundle is the ticket to please those hares of yours...

21 oz of organic gourmet apple wood chew sticks
03 oz freshly picked rosemary sprigs
x1 plastic bunny (which the human gets to keep)

The apple wood gnawers measure between 7-8" long and their thickness will vary between 1/8" to 7/8" (I hand cut & create an assortment of different sizes for each order !) You can expect some tasty little buds at the tips of some of these chew sticks... an extra way to say 'I love you' to those fur ball friends of yours <3

The fresh rosemary sprigs will also measure approx 7-8" and you may even see some yummy tasting flowers attached to these green twigs since the rosemary bushes bloom at this time of year !

The plastic bunny will arrive in one of these variable colors: orange, pink, purple, yellow, green or blue !"



FURTHER INFORMATiON about the Blessed Bunny Bundle

"The apple wood chew sticks have just been pruned from my very own apple orchard... this is a special grouping of trees, eighteen in total, each one bearing a different variety of apple. This orchard is planted in a huge spiral, with lavender bushes between each, and with a large path that winds between them.

Rosemary loves it here at Twilight, located up in the No. California mountains where the air is oh-so-fresh ! Feel free to feed fresh or dried :)

I raise these trees & plants myself and do not use ANY spray on them, either chemical or organic... so what you get is 100% all natural, unsprayed, untreated raw apple wood and rosemary.

Please store in cool place as you would any fresh vegetable !"



HARE TODAY GONE TOMORROW

"Please note... I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON GNAWER TREATS- you may want to check with your vet or pet store to make sure your pet breed may like to chew on apple wood sticks... I cannot make any guarantees on whether they will or not... but MANY & MOST species of rabbits, rodents, & chinchillas find them absolutely delicious and irresistible... providing them with hours of entertainment & chewing exercise.

Rosemary is listed and documented to be a safe herb for rabbits & buns alike."


***

So... the Year of the Rabbit is almost upon us...
have you got your Big Bunny Party organized yet ?
Have you lined up some special treats for the buns' buffet ?

If not,
The Blessed Bunny Bundle can be found HERE &
all Apple Wood Gourmet Chew Sticks are HERE

These are ready to ship out NOW via Priority Mail
to all US destinations except Alaska & Hawaii !
- inventory is limited & seasonal -

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Welcome Breed !


I've been looking forward to putting together this Treasury for weeks now... Inspired by the beautiful sunny weather and 80F temperatures today... I took the leap towards the sunbeam ! "Welcome Breed, ohhhhh Breed is come, Breed is Welcome !"

Brighid, Brigit,
Breed, Brit
... Brigid, a Celtic Goddess of many spellings highlights this Treasury dedicated to our upcoming cross quarter sabbat... a ceremony also known as Imbolc, Candlemass, the feast of St Brighid and the festival of lights.


Welcome Breed,
Ohhhh Breed is come,
Breed is Welcome !
click HERE to visit Treasury


Imbolc, St Brigid's day, Candlemass, the festival of lights is fast approaching !

Up here in the mountains of No. California, it is a magical time when we experience a spring in the midst of our rainy winters.

It is a time for reflection & a time to feel light renewing within ourselves.

I've been cleaning house, watering my gardens, pruning my apple trees & getting ready to make this year's apple wood Brigid Crosses...




"Brizel Brigit Crosses are a very unique adaptation of a Brigid Cross, made of apple wood which i grow and prune myself, and is perfect for your home or as a house warming blessing gift !

The wood is carefully sewn together with colored hemp string... purple in the center and an elemental/directional color for each of the arms of the cross. There is a loop at the back for it to hang from.

This particular Brizel apple wood Brigit Cross measures approx 5.5" x 5.5" (14 cm)

If you'd like me to custom create a Brigid Cross for a specific household... please see this listing:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/64974124/made-for-you-brigid-cross-imbolc-house"

If you are an ArtFire person... here is the link to the apple wood Brigid Crosses in my ArtFire studio, Brizel Handcrafts: http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=1609560


***

I love -every- single product that I chose to feature in this special Collection... and yet, when needing to choose only four items, here are those extraordinary ones that spoke to me (choose me, me, me !) lol...




- Clicking on the subtitles
will take you to the individual
product listings & artisan shops -

Wishing all of you peaceful & joyous times ahead !

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Thinking about Penguins and Squirrels, oh my !

It was a busy week creating animal theme Treasuries highlighting penguins for National Penguin Awareness Day and squirrels for Squirrel Appreciation Day... these collections feature work or products by members of the Etsy for Animals team.

Check them out... I got 'extra' creative by including non animal related items... which certainly added some environmental ambience to these Treasuries :)

THiNKiNG ABOUT PENGUiNS today
click HERE to visit Treasury

"Its National Penguin Awareness Day today (January 20)... If you think its cold where you live... can you imagine what the ambient temps are in Antartica ?

Members of Team EFA (Etsy for Animals) take off our hats and bow our heads at our penguin friends who are undoubtedly having a rougher day than we are."


APPRECiATiNG SQUiRRELS
click HERE to visit Treasury

"Squirrel Appreciation Day is coming up... get some nuts out and celebrate with Team EFA (Etsy for Animals) Oh and um... be nice to the squirrels too !"

This fun collection included one of Brizel's Silk Tapestry Boxes...




"Brizel Handcrafts presents, Autumn Squirrel, a small unique handmade decorative Silk Tapestry Box, made of silk sari yarns, perfect for stashing a memory keeper !

Autumn Squirrel is a vibrant soft fiber arts container featuring orange & red silk sari yarn paired up with a chocolate rayon yarn that has multicolored silk sari highlights."




"It has a lid of its own which is embellished with a gorgeous carved blue adventurine gemstone squirrel. Autumn Squirrel got her name because she has the best reputation in her neighborhood for gathering the most acorns during the fall season.

This animal Silk Tapestry Box measures approx: 3 1/8" in diameter x 2 1/4" high with an interior of 2 3/8" in diameter x 2" high"

Autumn Squirrel, as well as many other animal theme Silk Tapestry Boxes, can be purchased in my animal fundraising shop. Click HERE to visit my shop on Etsy !

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Early Morning Chicken Cheer !

Up in the Twilight mountains, we've had some tremendously beautiful weather in the last ten days or so... warm enough to work on property in short sleeves and run a good sweat. Ahhhh country life is so good on such days...

Its a fabulous time of year to prune & clean up. The Buddleias have already received their hair cut but the garden shrubs & roses still await... and so do the majority of the fruit trees. I have been slowly pruning the apple trees... getting the small prunings tailored for next year's Brigid Crosses and then with the rest, creating Gourmet Gnawer Chew Sticks for the bunnies and chinchillas...

The onset of the Year of the Rabbit is fast approaching and I want to get my battalion of apple sticks lined up and ready for the big bunny party :)


brizel4TheAnimals


There is so much to do at this time of the year when we enjoy a mini spring during our otherwise cold & damp winters. In the meantime, my neighbour's chickens are happily crowing and their song can be heard in the distance...

Coincidentally, I am in the process of typesetting an article about chickens for EFA's blog and was inspired to create a collection of hen & rooster products by our membership on Etsy. I like how this Treasury worked out... chick it out:


EARLY MORNiNG CHiCKEN CHEER
Click HERE to view Treasury

"Be kind to all chickens...
hear them cackle & crow...
there is wisdom in their pecking ways !"

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Celebrating Birds

Seems to me like an interesting time of year to celebrate our feathered friends... especially for those who experience colder winters as many of their regional birds hibernate or fly south during this time period.

So... Who would have known that National Bird Day is January 5th ? It was a surprise to me... until it flew right in my face on -the actual day- "Oh my goodness" I explained and promptly ran down to the Etsy house of Treasury and created this flighty collection

CELEBRATiNG BiRDS
Click HERE to visit Treasury !

I'm very pleased with how this Treasury composed itself... Soft hues of white, grey, blue, pink... many of which highlighted by blacks or a smidge of yellow...

Deliriously delighted with all the beautiful artwork displayed in this collection... all of them created by colleagues from my Etsy for Animals team including one of Brizel's Silk Tapestry Boxes...


"... Bold Eagle, a unique handmade decorative Silk Tapestry product, made of banana silk yarns, is perfect for storing a memory keeper !

Bold Eagle is a soft fiber arts basket container featuring vegan banana silk yarn in tones of golden yellows paired up with a variegated sky blue yarn. It has a lid of its own which is embellished with a carved pewter eagle."

Bold Eagle, as well as many other animal theme Silk Tapestry Boxes, can be purchased in my animal fundraising shop. Click HERE to visit my shop on Etsy !


Also amidst the many aviary wonders...
one of my favorites

original painting
by Rebecca Dresser


"In the silvery woods lit with falling snow, you might spot this beautiful little titmouse, keeping an eye out for his next meal. The background is painted with pearlescent white acrylic which gives a beautiful shimmery appearance. The very pale trees are also acrylic, but the titmouse is painted with creamy oils. On the top are small strokes and drips of the pearlescent white to give the look of falling snow."

Rebecca Dresser has long time been a lover of birds... she is, in fact, a queen of tweets... much evidenced in her Etsy shop, KneeDeepOriginals, which is filled with original artwork portraying our feathered friends in oil, watercolor, and scrimshaw engravings....

"Welcome to Knee Deep Studio where nature-inspired, soul-created watercolors and oil paintings come to life. There is and will be only one of each item that you see in my store. Each is handmade to be one-of-a-kind because I believe that each item is special in itself and that we all deserve to own one-of-a-kind items. Please note that all my work is created in a smoke-free environment in the middle of the North Carolina woods."

MORE FAVORITES...

SOLSTiCE SONG OF PEACE
original watercolor


CAROLiNA WREN
original oil painting


BLACK BEAUTY
original oil painting


original scrimshaw engraving



MORE ABOUT REBECCA...

"There are two things I love about art - discovering the soul of my subject as I bring it to a new and different life on canvas, and the element of surprise - you never know what will emerge and what you'll discover.

I have been working as a full-time artist since November of 2007. Prior to that, I worked as a Communication Director in graphic layout and marketing and as a writing instructor at a state university. I am a member of my local Arts Council as well as Associated Artists, a non-profit arts group designed to promote and showcase local talent. I have had solo shows as well as group shows within these organizations and outside of them. My most recent solo show was in October 2010 at the Apple Gallery of the Stokes County Arts Council.

All of my work is influenced by the natural world around my home (mountains, woods, birds and wildlife, gardens of all kinds), whether in color, texture, or materials. Each of my paintings is original and one of a kind. At this time, I do not do prints of my paintings or drawings, though I know some people prefer this because it is less expensive. I have recently added watercolor paintings to my Etsy shop. These are less expensive than oils, particulary the miniature unframed pieces, so there is affordable and original art for all!

I also play guitar, write songs, and sing with a band called The Ramshackles. We play blues, folk, a little country and a little rock and roll. We are a trio of two guitars and one cello. You can check us out on myspace at -- http://www.myspace.com/theramshacklesnc -- and my first CD of original tunes is available here in my Etsy shop.

When I am not creating art or music, or working on my Etsy site and primary website (www.kneedeepstudio.com), I enjoy walking in the woods and around the mountain behind my small house with my two dogs and my husband, a fabulous custom knifemaker (www.jbhegecustomknives.com). I often carry my camera with me to capture shots that I may later paint. The smell and sounds of the woods and the mountain... well, there's just nothing like it for me. I'm a nature girl at heart.

I also enjoy gardening, and I love the spring and summer for their wonderful colors of flowers, vegetables, grass, trees, and of course the sunshine and warm rains. There's something special about going out to the garden to pick and gather what you need for your evening meal!

While I am mostly an introvert, I find that being with others can be fulfilling at times. So something else that keeps me busy is volunteer work that I do in my community. I am an adult literacy tutor and have sessions with my student twice a week, and I also go a couple times a month to a local nursing home where I sing with and for the residents as well as just visit and offer an ear and a hand. Volunteering in my small community makes me feel a part of something beyond myself and it brings a sense of wholeness."


I highly recommend visiting
Rebecca's online sites !

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