Fairy Wishes

Here are a few fairy wishes for everyone. My goal is to create a world around me that is filled with wonder, amazement, and creativity. Then I want to be able to travel around sharing that world with others. So many artists inspire me to keep dreaming and to keep trying! I am grateful for all the inspiration from so many creative people out there. Keep dreaming and never stop believing.

An Enchanted Winter Escape

I confess that I am one of those people who loudly complains of the heat here in Arizona during our long summer months.  Our short winter here is my "summer"!  It is a chance to explore areas here in the desert and really appreciate their magic and beauty.  Our Agua Caliente park is one of those and it is truly a desert oasis due to a miraculous natural spring.  (Miracle because it's water.) 

Here are some pictures that I took the week before I took my niece here for her fashion blog photos.  http://ispyfashiondiary.blogspot.com/  I love the forest of palm trees, friendly ducks floating everywhere, and notice the turtles!  Too cute!  And the believer in me is sure that there are fairies merrily hiding around every little nook and cranny, keeping a watchful eye on their beautiful home.  So for everyone out there in the cold...here is a little winter escape.

Romantic Garden Arbor Bedroom

 Would you love to have the beauty of a garden in your bedroom all year long?  One of the most unique ways of adding a romantic garden feeling to a bedroom is with an arbor.  What could be more romantic than having your bed nestled up under a beautiful garden arbor.  Especially one that is draped in vines of your favorite flowers or greenery.  Then dangle a few candle lanterns overhead.  I get so excited just thinking about it!  What a dramatic and romantic statement.

Here are several examples of candle lantern that I have available on my website.  You can mix and match, or get three of the same style and hang them at various levels.  The multi-faceted Moroccan star up above is larger and would make a dramatic statement by itself.

Silk vines would be the easiest way to dress up your arbor.  They come with so many various flowers like roses, clematis, daisies, and my favorite hydrangeas.  Plus many others.  If you are more into greenery, there are quite a few options there as well.  You can always add splashes of flowers wherever you choose, too.  For a more foresty vibe I would buy the wood tone arbor and use mostly greenery.  Maybe even add some mossy accents throughout. 

What about other bedside accessories you might ask?  Well, first off, is the nightstand idea.  Many of these arbors have plenty of openings to "reach through" to a bedside lamp or alarm clock.  You can also add some of these items to the inside of your arbor.  For example one of those clip-on lamps.  They usually have adjustable necks and you could even glue coordinating leaves or flower petals to the outside of the shade. 

I also sell these cute cell phone holders.  Especially nice for all you fellow fairy lovers out there.  This works as  a cell phone or an mp3 holder.  All you would have to do is use those adhesive-backed velcro tabs and attatch to one of the rungs on the arbor.  Then nestle it between some foliage.  I have also used these velcro tabs in this same type of way for a small alarm clock. 

You could also use one or two of those pot hanging hooks and hang a decorative flower pot to hold things like a water bottle, eye glasses, etc.  The pots could be plain and simple like terra cotta.  Or painted, decoupaged, or mosaic to match other elements of your own personl design. 

The ideas are endless.  Another lighting addition could be a string of twinkle lights.  They make so many of these with different design elements these days.  Like butterflies, light-up flowers, even fairy lanterns, etc.  Having a variety of accent lighting is an important and often overlooked element to creating the mood you are looking for when designing a room.  

Don't forget to add a favorite picture or mural on the wall behind the arbor and over the bed.  For safety the arbor can be tied or bolted onto the bed frame from the sides.  Be sure to check your measurements.  A Twin bed is about 3' wide and a lot of these arbors are about 3-1/2' wide.  This gives you the wiggle room with added greenery and a couple inches of ease when making the bed.  

Here is a link to a site that sells a wide variety of arbors in all price rangse.  The black metal one shown at the top of this blog is only around $40.  I am an affiliate, so I appreciate anyone who shops through this link.  It can also be found on my website plus a  whole catagory of "Lantern" to choose from at http://gypsygdesigns.com/

Enchanted Forests

It is still hot here in Arizona even though it is the end of September. I really do not deal with the heat very well. I dream of the day I can escape again to a cooler climate and take adventurous, magical hikes through a beautiful cool forest. I love the forest! It is on my list to get to the Redwood forest someday soon. With such giant-sized trees, I imagine I will get a chance to feel what it would be like to fairy-sized! Miniature in comparison. Watch this video I found on Youtube and imagine yourself in one of these majestic giants.

http://jerryandmarynorthtoalaska.blogspot.com/

The best memories I have of heavenly hikes through forests and nature are from my 2 years living in southeast Alaska. I was living in Haines which is part of the temperate rainforest that covers the inside passage of Alaska. Unfortunately I didn't have a digital camera back in 2000 and I don't have a scanner to show some of my own photos. So I found some from other travelers. This first picture is of the amazing flower called Fireweed. They grow in thick fields at least 6 feet tall! There was this gorgeous patch of Fireweed in the park of Haines where I lived. They had this little pathway carved out to walk through. So Beautiful.

Then from any number of spots around town you could step off the road onto a trail through the enchanted forests surrounding the town. I used to collect twigs and then tie or glue them into fairy-sized furniture. Some were doors. Then I tucked them into some of the nooks and hollows peeking out of the thick mossy carpet that billowed up from the forest floor.

For now I must just dream and imagine that I am there.  Somewhere cool, green, and rejuvinating.