A Learning Life has a garden of fairy houses created by her children, inspired by the book, “Fairy Houses Everywhere.”

A movie trailer from Disney’s Tinkerbell. There’s a lot to see here at Disney’s Fairies website…very magical, very Disney. While there don’t forget to click on the “Create a Fairy” link. You do have to register but it’s free. Quinn was enchanted and so was his mommy. *smile* We played all the games, made our own fairy and talked about the magic of faeries. Since his mommy is always usually making faeries, I don’t think that he has any problem believing in their magic.

Fairy Websites:

A Visit to Fairyland

FairyChildren.com

Poems of Fairy and other Children’s Poetry

FamilyFun.com’s Fantasy and Fairies

Make your own Fairy Wings and Fairy Wand—another wand and even more wands and wings here

Or buy a wand here and here and here – Pewter, Fired Clay or Paper

Create a Fairy Flower Crown with hot glue, ribbon, pipe cleaners and silk flowers

JustMommies.com has complete directions for a whole fairy costume

Ideas for planting a Fairy Garden

Creative Fairy Kits and Journals—wands, masks, journals

Fairy Foods—cakes, cookies, breads and puddings

GardenFairy.com

Tinkerbell Party Ideas and more Tinkerbell Party Ideas!

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The Flowers
~ Robert Louis Stevenson ~

All the names I know from nurse:
Gardener’s garters, shepherd’s purse:
Bachelor’s buttons, lady’s smock,
And the lady hollyhock.

Fairy places, fairy things,
Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,
Tiny trees for tiny dames-
These must all be fairy names!

Tiny woods below whose boughs
Shady fairies weave a house;
Tiny treetops, rose or thyme,
Where the braver fairies climb!

Fair are grown-up people’s trees,
But the fairest woods are these;
Where, if I were not so tall,
I should live for good and all.

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FAIRY SONG

The moonlight fades from flower and tree,
And the stars dim one by one;
The tale is told, the song is sung,
And the Fairy feast is done.
The night-wind rocks the sleeping flowers,
And sings to them, soft and low.
The early birds erelong will wake:
‘T is time for the Elves to go.

O’er the sleeping earth we silently pass,
Unseen by mortal eye,
And send sweet dreams, as we lightly float
Through the quiet moonlit sky;–
For the stars’ soft eyes alone may see,
And the flowers alone may know,
The feasts we hold, the tales we tell:
So ‘t is time for the Elves to go.

From bird, and blossom, and bee,
We learn the lessons they teach;
And seek, by kindly deeds, to win
A loving friend in each.
And though unseen on earth we dwell,
Sweet voices whisper low,
And gentle hearts most joyously greet
The Elves where’er they go.

When next we meet in the Fairy dell,
May the silver moon’s soft light
Shine then on faces gay as now,
And Elfin hearts as light.
Now spread each wing, for the eastern sky
With sunlight soon will glow.
The morning star shall light us home:
Farewell! for the Elves must go.

As the music ceased, with a soft, rustling sound the Elves spread their shining wings, and flew silently over the sleeping earth; the flowers closed their bright eyes, the little winds were still, for the feast was over, and the Fairy lessons ended.

Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888)
Flower Fables 10 Fairy Song

While I was browsing Amazon.com last week I ran across some really nice books on drawing that I ordered for myself because…well, because my birthday is next Saturday. *smile* They arrived yesterday!! I’m not sure if I’ll ever draw on anything other than my computer using my Wacom Tablet but I’m really hoping that one day I will actually use at least one of those pretty journals that I’ve been collecting.

The Decorated Journal is nice and full of ideas but way beyond anything that I wanted to do. Keeping a Nature Journal and Learn to Draw Nature in the Style of the Edwardian Lady (Country Diary) look more promising for my budding interest. We’ll see how it goes…I probably should just stick to my computer, Poser and Photoshop.

Speaking of drawing, Jan Brett has some nice new videos on drawing up at her website (I love her website!), How to Draw a Chick and How to Draw a Bunny. Quick and fairly easy art lessons for young and old alike. (Jenn, she also has one on drawing horses if you want to check it out for Jenna. *smile*)

If you’d rather color, the Spring section of her Coloring Pages are loaded with cute images to print out.

The poem is courtesy of Randy Ramage.

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My cousin, Wanda, is home from the hospital. Thank you for your prayers!

I’ve finally updated Dani3D.com. I love my little spring girl I just created so I decided to use her here too, to coordinate Artful Thoughts and Dani3D.com. Everything looks very…Spring-y!

There’s not too many images in the gallery yet as I’m having a bit of a problem trying to figure out how it works. I’m sure I’ll be tweaking it for a couple of days.

Yesterday was such a gorgeous SPRING day!!! Thank you, dear Lord!!! The boys had their friends over and my Momma and Daddy came over after dinner and we played cards.  Treasuring my life…treasuring my memories.

Click to view image.

Please click to view image.

Please click to view image.

Weaving Palm

Palm Weaving: The Story…and the Art

A Crown of Thorns

Palm Cross

I’ve updated CatholicGraphics.com with the palm I made in Photoshop this morning…I have it larger (for printing) if you need it.

I had a few minutes this evening and opened up Poser and Photoshop and created a new top image and matching graphics. That’s a little nest with a bright blue egg on the right side…hard to see, I know. This one may not last too long. I do wish I had the time, inspiration and energy to redo Dani3D.com and update FaeFolk.com…mostly inspiration. PixelPaintedGraphics.com is up for renewal in 2 months and I may just let that domain expire since I have not pixel painted anything in a while…my poor websites are so neglected!

UPDATE: Just forced my hand by putting up a temporary index page on Dani3D.com…maybe now I will create that gallery I’ve been wanting to do to showcase my art plus update FaeFolk.com with a new image and clipart…maybe! *smile*

Please keep my cousin, Wanda, in your prayers. She is in the hospital with a serious ailment.

Prayer for the Sick
Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer of the sick, we turn to you in this time of illness. O dearest comforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden. Dear God, we place our worries in your hands. We place our sick under your care and humbly ask that you restore your servant to health again. Above all, grant us the grace to acknowledge your will and know that whatever you do, you do for the love of us. Amen.

Prayer for the Sick
Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give your angels charge over those who sleep.

Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ.
Rest your weary ones.
Bless your dying ones.
Soothe your suffering ones.
Pity your afflicted ones.
Shield your joyous ones.
And for all your love’s sake. Amen.
~ Saint Augustine ~

If I had to pick my favorite season, well, summer wouldn’t be it. I’m not too fond of heat, humidity and sweating. When it’s hot outside I want to be in a nice cool, air conditioned house. Today we’re supposed to go into the low 80’s. I really wish it would just stay spring and stop jumping back and forth between spring and summer! I want to enjoy spring.

We were very busy this weekend, running the boys around, shopping for two new houses…

Oz, our Red Fire Bellied Toad, has a new home and so does his food, the (I’m so sorry we have to feed you to Oz) crickets. Everyone seems comfy and I think our Beta, Lazarus, (Not really his name…the twins named him a Japanese name but since he has come back from the dead 2 times I call him Lazarus.) is enjoying the company. We have a regular Critters Row now on the boys’ desk.

I picked up a few spring gardening items and pots and seeds for the boys to plant after Easter. The forsythia bushes are just starting to bud and I cut a few off to decorate my kitchen table.

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Homeschooling

Evan-Moor.com has their new Spring printables and clipart out.

HomesEstore.com offers Amanda Bennett’s Easter Notebook Pages as their freebie.

The White House has an Easter Activity Book for download and since both Earth Day (April 22, 2007) and Arbor Day (April 27, 2007) are coming up, you can find a cute coloring book from the Environmental Protection Agency. Both are in PDF format. And speaking of Earth Day, this is one of my favorite articles written by my friend and fellow Catholic homeschooling mom, Maureen.

PreschoolLearners.com is a great website offering 400 free printable worksheets.

A Prayer in Spring
~ Robert Frost ~

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid-air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

Click to view image.

Primary:

I love to sing to my children, as my mother sang to my sisters and me, and was very happy to run across this one, a spring song sung to the tune of “Down in the Meadow.”

“Puddles”

Down in the meadow where the grass is rainy wet,
Let’s go finding puddles we’ve not waded in as yet,
Jump right in the middle of that dirty muddy ooze . . .
And wiggle, squiggle toes around inside our soggy shoes!

Wiggle, Squiggle, all around,
Hear that squishy sound!
Jump into a puddle;
Sink into the muddy ground!
Let’s go finding puddles
We’ve not waded in as yet,
Down in the meadow where the grass is rainy wet!

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Little spring printable readers for the little ones. Some are in PDF or DOC format.

Spring is in the Air

It’s Spring!

DLTK’s Spring

Science Spring Book

From Seeds to Flowers

Elementary:

Ranger Rick’s “Create Your Own Nature Journal”

Five Lessons to Bring Spring to Life!
(PreK-12)

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And some recent links from friends:

Loukoumi…Jeanne, recommended this adorable book!

Dawn, reminded me of this link, NotebookingPages.com…long lost in my many, many favorites/bookmarks.

Kim, knowing I am looking for a gardening apron for Quinn, sweetly shared her favorite from Hearthsong.

Thank you!