Magic In The Garden ~ A Fanciful Twist Halloween Blog Party

Welcome to the party!  October is a time of magic as you well know, and I have a tale to tell about a little bit of magic that happened on this very day!

Every year since I have lived in this house I have planted pumpkins.   I was certain that since I had a proper garden for the first time this year they would be better than ever.  But sadly my dears, it was not to be. 

I tended my vines with great care, and they grew hardy and strong.  However, despite my best efforts not a single pumpkin formed this season.

This morning when I went out to pick the last of my beans and carrots I spied a glimmer of orange under one of the leaves!  Could it be?

Yes I was sure it was a tiny little pumpkin!

I moved closer for a better look...is that an eye?

I moved the leaves aside and jumped back.  A tiny pumpkin was there indeed...but he was looking back at me with large full moon shaped eyes, black as midnight!

The poor little guy was all alone, so I plucked him right out of the patch and stuck him in my apron pocket.

I was busy decorating so I set him on the table with the pumpkins waiting to be carved for that oh so special evening.  I thought he would feel right at home, but he seemed a bit nervous...

I tucked him safely inside a wreath, but that didn't seem to make him feel any better.

Finally I took him downstairs and sat him by the haunted house, and I went on about my business.

Tricky Tweeter got curious and came to see what all the fuss was about.  He told Pip he would be his friend.  Pip told him he was afraid of Halloween!

Jacko arrived next and announced he would like to be friends with him too!  They wanted to know why he was afraid of Halloween since it's such a magical time of year with trick or treating, bobbing for apples and great costumes!  Pip explained he was afraid that he would carved into a jack-o-lantern. 

They assured him that would never happen and that he would be around for many, many more Halloween's to come!  They all danced a little jig together and began making plans for the big night!

Pip, his friends and I would like to wish you all a Happy Halloween!  May you find a little magic of your own!

I would like to thank all of you for stopping by, and A Fanciful Twist for hosting the party!  Be sure to stop by and visit all the other lovely blogs participating!

Also be sure to check out my Haunted By Holmes Blog Give Away.

Lastly, if you are interested in Pip, Jacko or Tricky Tweeter they are available for adoption on my website; Blondheart.com

PS...I always visit every blog.  It somtimes takes me a bit, but I promise I will get to yours!

Second Star To The Right Blog Party

I do so love parties!  FawnDear is hosting one that sounds completely wonderful!  Head over and sign up to join in the fun!

Six Possible Things

While Alice may have had trouble believing six impossible things before breakfast upon her arrival in Wonderland, most of us who live in the real  world  actually have a harder time believing in the possible.

This weekend as I traveled around reading all the posts from my party guests, I was astounded at what creativity and talent everyone had.  Everyone quite put me to shame.

But I learned an important lesson from those posts and also my own trials with my project.  All too often we get caught up in our heads and talk ourselves out of what we have the ability to make possible.  We let things like fear, full schedules, over thinking it or even laziness sometimes keep us from our full potential as creative beings.

I thought about all the secret dreams I have, and why I haven't done them.  I also thought about the ones I have done.  That first step really is the hardest, it's what keeps me from beginning all too often.  But it's also possible if I just make my brain shut up a little and get off my duff and do it!

Like with the new bunny pattern, once I got started it just all began to fall into place.  So why have I always needed so long to design a pattern or make a really fancy piece?  Can you imagine if those first astronauts didn't take that first step on the moon?  I am sure they were terrified when they strapped themselves into the rocket and waited for lift off.  But they did it anyway and it was a giant success.

I have made a little decision, instead of waiting for the blog party next year I am going to make those secret dreams a reality more often.  What am I waiting for?  I have already had the flash of inspiration when I got those ideas.  What's the worst that can happen?  Maybe a project fails like it did with what I originally intended to make.  If it fails it's not the end of the world, I will just begin again.

A long time ago my Mother gave me an unfinished wooden box.  I am going to make it all pretty and write all those secret dreams of things I want to make or do down on little pieces of paper.  I am going to put them in the box, and periodically pull one out and do it.  I have a lot of things I have been wanting to make for years...and now is the time.

All the creativity I saw this weekend inspired me so much.  Hopefully it inspired some of you too!

Hugs, K. <3

A Mad Tea Party

Just a reminder that I am participating the Mad Tea Party, hosted by A Fanciful Twist.  My post will go live at midnight MST (hopefully) so I will see you there!

Once In A Blue Moon Blog Give Away

Since I am hosting the party on July 17th, I thought a blog give away would be the perfect thing! So you will have a chance to win "Blue Moon" shown above. He is 6 inches tall, hand dyed mohair, glass eyes, sparkly nose and comes in a Smith & Hawken basket. (He is a collectible and absolutely not meant for children!)

I will give him away on July 18th, the day after the party. All you have to do to be eligible is make a post on your blog about him with a link back here. You can also use the button at the left if you like. Make sure you leave a comment on this post and let me know you posted about him with a link back to your blog, and you will automatically have one chance to win him.

If you sign up and join in the fun of the Midsummer Night's Secret Dream Party you will get three additional chances to win him! Easy huh!~

International readers are welcome to enter too!

Good luck to all who enter! K. <3

The Genuine Bonafide Official Announcement!

Ok so after yesterday's issues, I guess I am ready for a happy announcement! As promised...here it is! I am having another blog party!

The theme of this one is "A Midsummer Night's Secret Dream." You can read all about it here:


A Midsummer Night's Secret Dream Party I look forward to seeing you all there!

Hugs, K. <3

A H'artfelt Christmas Party

Welcome to the first H'artfelt Christmas Blog Party!  Be sure to click the link on the right to the official H'artfelt Christmas Blog to find a list of guests.  Enjoy!

The Forgotten Toy's Christmas

Hello and welcome to the Christmas Tea For All The Toys Blog Party hosted by Bearbits! For your enjoyment, I present the following original story:

"The Forgotten Toy's Christmas"

In a far corner of the attic sat a dusty old trunk filled with forgotten things. Inside the trunk tears welled up in the shoe button eyes of a little teddy bear. Evangeline didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help it. She had been waiting decades to be wanted and loved again.



She felt the soft cotton hand of the Raggedy Doll pat her paw. "Please don't cry Evangeline" she whispered. Bingo the elephant reached over and swept away a tear that had escaped with his trunk. His own bottom lip quivered a little. He knew how she felt.

For the past hour they had listened to the Holbart children downstairs in the kitchen, excitedly making out their Christmas lists for Santa. Timmy had wanted a new electronic game player. Sue Ellen wanted an MP3 player, and some cash cards for an online game. Tory, being the youngest had wanted a robotic dog since she wasn't allowed to have a real one.

Children never asked for simple toys like them anymore, everything had to be electronic or computerized these days. But every year they laid awake in the trunk listening to the kids in the house and hoped that by some small chance they would wish for a bear, doll, elephant or rabbit. Sadly it never happened.

Bitsy Bunny sat in the far corner of the trunk twirling her ear, lost in thought. The magic had gone out of Christmas for the four of them long ago, but she was determined to get it back this year. She wasn't sure how, but she would do it! They had waited long enough, and if the children of the house weren't interested in playing with them, they would just make their own fun!

Many years before, they had belonged to Annabelle Hobart, the children's grandmother. They had been her prized possessions when she was a child and they went everywhere with her. They had wonderful tea parties and picnics, played dress up, and traveled with her when she had gone abroad. But they had been packed away in the trunk when Annabelle had grown up.

When Annabelle had her own daughter, Clara, who was now the children's Mother, she had played with them a few times. But they had mostly sat on the shelf as decoration. When Clara had grown up they had been packed away in the trunk again and completely forgotten.

Bitsy finally stopped twirling her ear. She had an idea! She began rummaging around in the trunk. Finally she pulled out a little tin tea cup. She waved it in front of her friends noses.

"We could sneak down on Christmas Eve after everyone has gone to bed and have a tea party in front of the Christmas Tree!" She exclaimed.

Evangeline looked thoughtful. "Do you really think we could?" she asked.

"Why not!" said Bingo, "The children go to sleep early so Santa will come. We wouldn't get caught. I sure would like to see a pretty tree all lit up again!"

Raggedy Doll peered at the tea cup. "Let's do it!" she said, and began to dig through the trunk with Bitsy for the rest of the things they would need.



When Christmas Eve arrived, they made sure to wait until everyone was asleep, then pushed open the lid of the trunk. They took the tea set and a small table and chairs they had found, and crept quietly down the stairs. They started setting up their tea party with great excitement. They hadn't been out of the trunk in so long that everything looked absolutely sparkly and magical.

Suddenly they heard a voice above them, "Well hello there! Did Santa bring you?" it said.



The four of them looked up startled. They didn't immediately see the source of the voice and were afraid they had been caught. They soon realized a tiny stuffed gingerbread man was hanging on the tree.

"No Santa didn't bring us, we came down from the attic where we had been quite forgotten. What are you doing all the way up there?" asked Bingo.

"Ah" said the little gingerbread man, and nodded knowingly. "I used to belong to Sue Ellen when she was very small, but she lost interest in me I am afraid. Mrs. Holbart just hangs me on the tree every year now. Then I get packed away with the ornaments."

"Oh that's terrible" said Evangeline. "Would you like to join us for tea and cook...er cupcakes?" she asked, quickly hiding the cookie she was about to eat so as not to offend their new friend.

"I would be delighted!" exclaimed the gingerbread man. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Yum Yum!" He tried awkwardly to bow while hanging on the tree.

Bingo lifted the Raggedy Doll up and they helped Yum Yum down.




They talked and laughed all through the night, losing track of time. In fact they were having so much fun that they didn't even notice Santa Claus peeking in through the window.

Santa looked at his list and then back to the toys having their tea party thoughtfully. He tucked the game player, MP3 player and robotic dog back into his sack. He snuck in and blew some magic dust towards the five little toys and snuck back out quietly without making a sound. Santa smiled to himself for being able to leave one of the best presents of all at the Hobart house and got back into the sleigh and flew off into the night with a jolly "Ho Ho Ho!"

The first rays of sunshine peeked brightly in through the windows on Christmas morning waking the children. They ran downstairs noisily,excited to see what Santa had brought them. Mr. and Mrs. Hobart, awakened by the sound of their children followed right behind them.



A strange sight met their eyes when they got to the tree. Beneath it was a tea party scene with a bear, doll, elephant and a rabbit. Even the little gingerbread man had somehow fallen off the tree and looked as if he had joined them.

Tory ran forward with a squeal and grabbed up Raggedy Doll and Bitsy Bunny for a hug. Sue Ellen sat down and lifted a tiny tea cup, she held it out in front of Evangeline enchanted. Then she spied Yum Yum and said "Yum Yum! I wondered where you had went! I've missed you!" Even Timmy picked up Bingo and smiled. "What a great elephant!" He thought.

Mrs. Hobart knelt down. "These toys used to belong to your Grandmother Annabelle" she said. "But how did they get down here?" Then she looked up at her husband and smiled. "You found them didn't you John?" Mr. Hobart scratched his head, puzzled. "No Clara...I didn't, I swear I didn't! Santa must be responsible!"

Mrs. Hobart smiled, she didn't believe him of course. He was the only one who could have brought the toys down from the attic. She was delighted too, her children were taking an interest in something that didn't require batteries. The children begged for stories about their Grandmother as they played with their new treasures. They had completely forgotten about the things they had asked for.

As the years went by, the toys weren't packed away again. They were passed on to many more generations of Hobart children, and they gained new friends along the way. Every year it was tradition that they were set up under the tree for a tea party. Stories were passed down about Annabelle Hobart, and the toys that had been given their own special Christmas gift of love by none other than Santa himself!



Merry Christmas to you all, and don't forget to spread a little love and cheer to those who may have been forgotten!

Hugs, K. <3,

Christmas Tea For All The Toys

I just wanted to remind everyone that Saturday is Ginger's Christmas Tea For All The Toys blog party. I will be attending the party and (hopefully) entertaining you with a short story I wrote. So I hope to see you all there! Also don't forget to stop by Ginger's blog and check out the rest of the guests posts.

Hugs, K. <3

Busy Busy!

I probably won't be posting a whole lot this week. I've been decorating the house for Christmas and I have a lot to go. I also want to get things done for Ginger's Christmas Tea For All The Toys Blog Party coming up Saturday, and a new little animal that I want to use for my own a H'artfelt Christmas Blog Party the week after.

So be patient and bear with me...pun intended! *winks*

See you soon!

Cleaning And Layouts

I spent all day cleaning. I like to get the house cleaned before Christmas decorating time. I only got the vacuuming, laundry, a little assorted dusting and spot cleaning, and the powder room done. It takes me forever to clean this house. It's my own fault, I have enough stuff in here for six houses. There are days when I think I would like to back a semi up to the door and just let them cart 90% of it all away.

Artists tend to be collectors and pack rats. I suppose being poor as a child might have something to do with it too. I have no problem throwing out unnecessary items, but when it comes to all the little odds and ends I own I have a hard time doing it. As a result, my rooms are overstuffed. Plus I have books in every room.

This evening I cooked, washed dishes, watched a little TV (I was pleased with the outcome of Dancing With The Stars!) Then I worked on my Christmas website layout a bit.

I am having a hard time with it. I had this fabulous idea two months ago, and I just couldn't make it work. It's the first idea I have ever had for it that I couldn't pull off. I have been floundering ever since. I have 5 layouts done and none of them really hit the mark for what I want. I suppose I am going to have to pick one eventually. It just pains me that I can't do what I had intended.

I guess that's about it for today. I really didn't have a lot to say...I just didn't want you to think I had abandoned you, so I gave you an update on what I am doing.

I do have some great ideas for the two upcoming blog parties though, and some ideas for new pieces! So stay tuned!

Hugs, K <3

Monday Love & Inpsiration: Blogs & Parties & Holidays Oh My!

Since I wasn't up to posting my usual Monday post last week, I thought I would share a little love AND inspiration today. And of course I have my announcement. But before we get to that, I want to say that I am doing better. My mouth is healing, I am ten pounds lighter, and if you ever have to get gum grafts it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be! Plus did I mention I am ten pounds lighter!!! *giggles* I could tell you a funny pants story, but I have enough to tell in this post.

Secondly, I really want to thank everyone who visited and left me such lovely comments from the Halloween party post! Despite only 3 1/2 days to do it, and trying to recoup, I really had fun with it. The bears enjoyed it as well and want to put on more little plays for you in the future. (Actually they wanted to do War And Peace today but I told them I would pass out, so they decided maybe a break would be better. Besides I told them it's best to leave their fans wanting more for a little while!)

Ok so on to the post! I am always inspired by so many of the blogs I read. There are so many amazing and talented people out there and it's one of the better sides of the internet that we get a glimpse into their lives and get to know them a little bit through this medium!

I also love parties, and I love love holidays! No...really I LOVE holidays. I enjoyed Vanessa's party and reading every single blog that participated. It was so much fun and filled with love and inspiration of every magical variety!

So last week while I was doing everything else except eating, I decided I wanted to host a party of my own for Christmas! I know it's a little soon to think about Christmas since Halloween hasn't arrived yet, but I wanted to be sure to give people plenty of time. It's a busy time of year and I figured even if people had things to do they could get started early and have a post ready for that day.

So without further ado...*dramatic pause*...I am having the first ever A H'artfelt Christmas blog party! Everyone is invited to join in the fun...yes everyone, even that rotten boy in second grade that tried to kiss me all the time. Everyone in the entire world. Not that I expect them all to show up, just maybe 2/3 of the worlds population! *grins cheekily* So head on over to the special blog I made just for the party info, and sign up! (Don't grade me too harshly on my poor attempt at poetry please!) A couple enterprising people found the blog before I was done setting up!

I hope to see you all there!

Hugs, K. <3

We Have A Winner!

The winner was chose by randomizer at wwwrandom.org. So without further ado, I would like to congratulate Marion, from Rusty-Prim! Pumpkin will be winging his way to Germany as soon as you e-mail me with an address!

I want to thank everyone who entered and who reads my blog. I also want to tell you that I have two surprises coming! One will be announced Monday, and the other sometime in November. So watch for those!

In the mean time I am working frantically to get everything ready for the Halloween Blog Party on the 17th. I hope to see you there!


Hugs, K. <3

Who Doesn't Love A Party!

I am going to be doing the Halloween Party with A Fanciful Twist. I had been meaning to sign up ever since I saw it in Artful Blogging and with all that has been going on, I had nearly forgotten! Luckily I saw a post on Ginger's blog from Bearbits, and remembered!

The bears are already planning their costumes! I hope to see you there! Also it's not too late if anyone else wants to sign up too. Just follow the link and follow the rules!