Priceless...

13 party dresses ruined with tie dye--$585.
13 tie-dyed t-shirts--$130.
One grandmother in a rented shark costume--$82...
And the local police responding to the 9-1-1 call from a
terrified 5-year old at Avery's party--PRICELESS.

So this is how it went down. First, I told my sister that I saw no reason for the girls to wear smocks to do TIE DYE. (DYE being the operative word here folks). I had done it myself and didn't make a mess, so I had every confidence that a group of 13 little girls hopped up on sugar would also be perfectly neat and tidy. -- Oh, and I wanted to dress like a hippie in honor of the craft, but my headband made me look like much more like Pocahontas than Joni Mitchell. Meanwhile, the "theme" of the party was Avery's favorite cartoon - Charlie & Lola. And Avery also likes sharks, so grandma Gigi volunteered to sport the (very warm, on a summer day) shark suit. Any other ideas we can roll into one birthday??

So first, it was introductions, pretty party dresses, and pizza. Then tie dye, very messy party dresses, and tears from one little girl who actually cared that her dress was totally trashed.

And then there was a knock at the door! The shark arrived! Five little girls screamed, four little girls cried, three little girls laughed, AND one little girl calmly retreated to the home office and called 9-1-1... The police officer was very nice. He didn't handcuff Gigi the shark and he wished Avery a very happy birthday.

Happy Birthday Avery!! This one's going to be hard to top!

Lost and found

I found this little girl's ballet slipper while walking Max the other day. We walk on a path that passes a local elementary school, so it's not entirely uncommon to find all sorts of things that kids lose along the way. In this case, it wasn't exactly lost as I had to wrestle it off the little ballerina's foot, and she put up quite a fuss for a seven-year old, but it was worth it!

Okay, I'm kidding.
Really. I would never do such a thing.
Ever. Almost never.
Not even for my art.
Well, maybe.

Anyway, it may be years before I find the perfect art piece in which to incorporate this well-worn little slipper. It's owner may well be starring in Swan Lake by that time. Or perhaps after our little altercation she has decided to play soccer instead!

And the winners are...

It's serendipitous that it worked this way- but all three winners received their first choice, and the three winning names chose #1, #2, and #3, in that order.

--Mylyne, #1
-- Laura, #2
-- Annette, #3

Mylyne, please email me at kerristabile@gmail.com with your mailing address, and I'll get your collage in the mail right away. Laura, I have your address, so yours is coming soon, and Annette, if it's not too much trouble, I can save postage if you stop by my house!

Thank you all for your comments about the rain. You all reminded me that when I am not coercing my dog to walk or wiping my limp locks out of my face, there are dozens of reasons to love a rainy day. Now it's back to some much needed housework! I had a yard sale over the weekend, and while my rooms and closets are more spacious, I left utter chaos in my wake, and I have to clean it up before I go on to the next project!

400th blog post - an an art giveaway

Normally, I hate rainy days. I don't like how dark and damp and cold my house gets. I hate venturing out through puddles, saddled with an umbrella that never works right. Walking Max is monumental chore in the rain, since he can't hold his own umbrella and he hates getting wet. And rainy days are synonymous with bad hair days in my world...

But it was drought-like in Upstate NY until the beginning of June, when it poured buckets, and for once I embraced a dark, damp day by curling up on my sofa with Max, a cup of coffee, an an overdose of HGTV. I also turned on my beeswax pot, and made a few little 5 x 5 beeswax collages...

Here they are:




Which brings me to my blog giveaway!

#1 my heart, thy heart
#2 twilight comes
#3 garden fairie

Just leave a comment telling me what you like about rainy days - and also rank from 1-3 which of these pieces you would like to receive if you win. On Monday, June 21, (the longest day of the year!!) I will pull three names at random as the recipients. The first name chosen will get their first choice, and I will try to honor your choice if you're second or third, based on what's left. I will announce the three winners on June 22, and ask you to contact me via email with your mailing address.

FYI, for those of you who've participated in past giveaways, I have learned a lot during my 400 blog posts - and one thing I've finally learned is to have the giveaway items wrapped & ready to go BEFORE offering the giveaway (I was not always so efficient!!). So these pieces are ready and waiting for mailing addresses and I promise you will not wait ages to receive them if you win.

I want to thank you all so much for visiting, and sharing your thoughts and support and inspiration with me.

And the winner is...

La Dolce Vita! Congratulations, Caterina. I've sent your email address to my contact at CSN stores and they will be sending you an online store gift certificate worth $50 toward any of their merchandise.

And, funny how things work - I promised that post number 400 would be a handmade giveaway... forgetting that the next post would be this announcement...BUT in a strange twist of fate, I didn't know that blogger counts blog "drafts" as posts...so this post is actually number 399, and my next post -- number 400 will be my handmade giveaway tomorrow... so stay tuned!!!

FYI - This digital collage was inspired by Caterina's favorite thing about summer (and definitly one of mine)...the color GREEN!!!

Post #399 - with a giveaway...

Hi there, friends!

Do you need a new sofa? dog bed? hammock? bar? I was recently contacted by CSN stores to offer a free $50 blog giveaway, and I thought that blog post number 399 would be a great time to say thanks to my faithful readers as well as new readers who may visit, by passing this offer on to you.*

Here's how it works.
Leave a comment telling me what you love best about summertime, between now and next Monday, June 14. On June 15, I will pick a name at random as the winner. I will need to contact the winner and provide CSN stores with your email address -- they will send you a $50 gift certificate via email for online shopping at one of their 200 online stores. If you do not wish to leave your email address in the comments section of my blog, then leave your comment on my blog and send your email address to me separately (at kerristabile@gmail.com).

Here are a few of my favorite CSN stores...

http://www.everyhomebar.com/
http://www.theoutdoorartstore.com/
http://www.everyhammock.com/
http://www.allkitchencarts.com/

*Unfortunately, because this giveaway is being sponsored by an online store, it is only available to readers in the U.S. and Canada, where they ship their products. I do apologize for this limitation... but just fyi, I will be posting my own giveaway for blog post #400, and I have no shipping limitations, so stay tuned!

Quote of the day...

I don't want to get to the end of my life an find I have lived just the length of it. I want to live the width of it as well.
-- Diane Ackerman

I am busy living the length and width of my life these days, so I've had little time to post. Okay, in truth, I've been playing in my garden and soaking up sunshine (and chardonnay) - that counts, right? It's been sunny and warm in Upstate NY these days, and I have no desire to be at a computer when the sun is shining.

Also, I have a new camera, but I am suffering from my typical new-technology inertia, and have yet to use it or load the software on my computer... and a blog without photos is, well, just words (duh!).

Happy June! I'll be back again when it rains!!