fantasy art and tree chatter of aquariann

"They hold their great balls in the open air, in what is called a fairy-ring. For weeks afterward you can see the ring on the grass. It is not there when they begin, but they make it by waltzing round and round. Sometimes you will find mushrooms inside the ring, and these are fairy chairs that the servants have forgotten to clear away." - The Little White Bird excerpt by J.M. Barrie During our last trip to Williamsburg, we took the Colonial Parkway to Riverwalk Restaurant in Yorktown and stopped at Indian Fields Creek just long enough to photograph these cute mushrooms. Flutter to my Wordless Wednesday Directory for a list of blogs that regularly host WW Linky Parties. Grab my button as a reminder to return next week for more photography fun!

Remember Mitch, my adopted felted mushroom sculpture ? I was cheerfully chosen to give his creator, Shana of Woodland Whimsy , a gift for this year's Fantasy Artists of Etsy team's Solstice Swap . After perusing her list of likes, I picked out my purple unicorn bookmark , steampunk unicorn magnet and fairy card to send. But I heard Mitch clearing his throat and knew he had a more creative gift idea in mind. He posed prettily as I drew him playing hide and seek in a patch of orange fungi. He was about as successful at blending in as I was at following the poem rules when writing a cute limerick. There once was a mushroom named Mitch, Shaped from felt rather than stitch. He liked to hide in fungi, But his eyes shone the lie. That silly shroom didn't mind the hitch! Mushroom drawing is inked with black Sakura Pigma Micron Pens and colored with Prismacolor pencils onto ACEO sized Strathmore Smooth Bristol Paper . Colored pencil fantasy art is linked at Sunday Sket...

Mushroom season hasn't sprouted in Delaware yet, but a needle felted mushroom sculpture sprung fully grown out of my mailbox. His name is Mitch and he's related to Crystal, the blue mushroom sculpture that was adopted by one of my giveaway entrants last January. Both art dolls were born at Shana's Woodland Whimsy studio in Nevada. Doesn't Mitch match my blog's color scheme perfectly? Shana hand dyes the alpaca fiber using food safe dyes, then pokes a special barbed needle into it thousands and thousands of times to shape it into her cute creatures. He is one of a kind and mine, mine, mine - but he has kin that are still hoping to find a forever home. From Marli in teal and peach to Mervin in purple and moss green, a whole family of Fungus Among Us are available in her Etsy shop.

EDIT: Giveaway is officially closed. Congratulations to the randomly chosen 16th commenter, Wendy Hatton! Winter has barely begun, and I'm already dreaming of warm weather and greener grass. If you're feeling the same, don't despair - you could be the one to win this rare blue mushroom that won't decay or freeze, no matter the season. Meet Crystal, an adorable ooak needle felted mushroom by Shana of Woodland Whimsy . The white portions of Crystal's exterior are sheep's wool and the blue portions are hand dyed alpaca fiber. Her skeleton is needle felted fiber fill. I have no skills in creating three dimensional art, so the sculptures and art dolls by my fellow Fantasy Artists of Etsy amaze me. Although Shana has been crafting practically her whole life, needle felting is a new technique to her. Last year her mom bought alpacas and their fleece encouraged her to learn how to felt. Needle felting is a process that uses a special barbed needle to mesh the fibers to...