Instant Art: British Eggs

I've got another great Instant Art for you all! I just love the colors on these eggs, and I think they would be perfect for an office or kitchen!

Just right click on the image, hit 'save as', re-size if you wish, and print! Viola, instant art for any room or space. If you want the image to last a lifetime, I suggest using Acid-Free paper.

These are from 'Coloured Figures of the Eggs of British Birds' by H. Seebohm.

I'm offering the original, and the one I edited to brighten the colors.

 Original

Edit

Love and Lightning Bugs,

Freebie: White Pearls Photo Frame

I was playing around in Photoshop, working on a few designs for my business, and I made something I thought you might like me to share with you. Yep, my first free design for you all!

This is a photo frame for your blog or website! It's easy to download, just right click on the image and click 'save as'. Once you have it, just put into your favorite photo editing software, put your image behind it, and voila!

I hope some of you can get some great use of of this pretty frame.

Love and lightning Bugs,

Photo Copyrights

So, I've created another new product, and I though this might be the place to get it off the ground.



Do you post a lot of pictures on your blog? Do you get mad or upset when you see other people using your images on their blogs, or claiming them to be their own photos? Want more traffic to your blog because of your pictures? Than this might be the thing for you.

Put a signature and URL on each photo, and make sure no one steals your pictures again. Like so...

I can make these in any color, with almost any item or flourish in the background, in almost any font you can imagine. These can be put on any picture, file, or even used as a signature in forums and blogs. Below are the two I'm using right now.

I can make them as big or as small as you need, and each one is adjustable, so you can make it the right size for each use. I'm selling them for only $5.00 for the initial design, and  $3.00  for each additional color changed design you'd like. An example, $5.00 for the white one above, then $3.00 to make another in black.

If interested, please contact me at Isabella_Grey@Hotmail.com

Love and Lightning Bugs,

Blueberry Lemonade MiO Review

Yesterday, I received my full size sample of MiO in the mail. MiO, for those of you who may not know, is a water flavor enhancer. It's simple enough, you put it in your water, or any beverage, stir, and drink.

My box came, and it looked perfect. No tears, no dents, not even a scuff. It was rather refreshing to have an intact sample come to my house for once. A definite good start to this review.

The bottle itself was nestled in a cozy little space inside the box, and it too was perfect. No leaks or crushed marks anywhere. The bottle is a very good size, and fit nicely in the hand. It's a great size to put in a purse pocket, or a messenger bag pocket. Keep the top up though, just to be safe.

I got my glass ready, ice and all.

After flipping open the lid, I had a bit of trouble. I went to squirt some in my water, and I'm pretty sure I squeezed too hard, so more came out than I expected. For a girl who's not a huge fan of blueberry, this was a big oops. This product is so concentrated, a tiny amount is all you need. The MiO fell to the bottom, so I stirred it up, and took my first sip.

The flavor wasn't bad, just too strong for my taste, since I did put too much in. After emptying my glass, and trying again more carefully, I found that the flavor greatly improved. As you can see below, my water is very very pale blue, and had a nice hint of blueberry this time, and not just the flavor of blueberry.

Overall, this was a great product. It's simple to use, easy to take with you, and great for customizing your drinks or any kind. I like the fact that you can add more if the flavor isn't quite strong enough for you, and can water it down if the flavor it too strong. I'll definitely be using this more often!

Love and Lightning Bugs,

The Girls and Me

If you've ever met me in person, you'll know I can't introduce myself properly unless I refer to myself as a Bunny Momma, and a very proud and happy one at that. If you've ever met a Bunny parent, you know we're a little odd when it comes to our 'exotic' rabbits, but we sure have tons of heart, and a bond that only a fellow Bunny parent can understand.

Since I haven't introduced them yet, here are my 'girls'.

This is Maylene, my gender confused, raised from a kit, Rabbit. This photo is from her very first Christmas with us. Tiny little thing huh?

This is her now, a beast at just over 10 pounds, and well over a foot and a half long. She's a mutt of sorts, as we adopted her from a meat rabbit breeder, so we have no idea what her breed is.

She's got some funny little habits, like drinking out of cups, rubbing her chin on everything to mark all of 'her' things, running the Bunny 500 around our bedroom, and slurping on her bottle of water right as we're trying to get to sleep...every...single....night.

But I love this girl...well....maybe I should explain that. She's not really a girl, but rather a boy whom we thought was a girl. By the time we figured it out, she already knew her name, and we were so used to calling her a 'her' that we never really changed it. I don't think she knows any better though.

She's a little over a year and a half old now, in the puberty portion of her expected 10 year lifetime. Does she act up like a normal teenager? You bet. But I still love this crazy black bunny, and all her silly antics. Besides, since we raised her, she has excellent harness and outdoor manners, and tolerates being picked up pretty well. And does she love a good snuggle on the bed with us? You betcha!

 This, is Claudia, our second adopted Bunny. She was saved from an Amish auction, from a man who was bidding on her to eat her. If you know me at all, you know I was NOT going to let that happen. This is her the first night at home with us.

She was timid, and so shy, and refused to come out of her cage at all. We put her in a smaller cage so she could feel more secure, and dang if she's refused to move anything bigger now. But both Rabbits spent a huge amount of time out and about each day, and running around, separately and in different parts of the house, of course.

This is Claudia now, much bigger than her sister, at just under 20 pounds. You may have noticed her mane of sorts, which is from her fathers side. She's a Lionhead, Flemish Giant cross, and one of the most moody girls I have seen in my life. Her coloring is called Agouti, which means each individual hair strand is banded with light and dark sections, and is tipped in black. Striking, you think?

Now, as I mentioned before she is MOODY. Imagine a 20 pound rabbit who's Bipolar, knows she can make you do what she wants, and throws her weight into her attitude fits...yep, that's her. She's the sweeter of the two, and will literally lay next to you for hours if you keep petting her head, and gently nudge you when you stop as a kind reminder that she's still there.But when she gets mad or upset at you, watch out. She will throw her food bowl, shred her phone book, scratch and bite her cage, and purposely empty her water bottle on herself to spite you...somehow.

We got her at a year old, so she's two right now, and a delight when she wants to be. I'm working on getting her harness trained, so she can spend more days outside in the fresh grass and sunshine. She's doing well so far, and has even found one bush that she has proclaimed to be 'hers', and has started building a den under.

Rabbits aren't a pet for everyone, and are much more work and time consuming than people think. But even though they don't conform to normal pet standards, they make wonderful companions once you know how to speak and understand their unique language and behaviors. As stated before, I adopted both my girls, and am a firm believer in adopting and rescuing all my pets, from dogs and cats, to horses, to bunnies and mice and rats. Please, don't buy a rabbit in a pet store, when lonely, older, and more well behaved, bunnies are alone and euthanized by the dozens daily. Save a life, adopt.

Would you be interested about hearing more about my bunnies and their antics from time to time? Let me know!
Love and Lightning Bugs,

100 Followers Appreciation Giveaway!

Well, I promised it, and here it is!

I can't even believe I made it to 100 followers on this blog! I'm so thankful and so happy to know that people have a desire to read what I'm writing and creating. In thanks, I've decided to giveaway one of my favorite pieces to make: a large flower hair clip.

This hair piece is a fun, but delicate, way to dress up a formal event, a night on the town, or office wear. It's attached at the back with a clip, allowing you to wear it in your hair any way you can think of. The edges of the petals are dusted with glitter, and tiny sequins help catch the light when you move. It's a beautiful piece, and one I'll miss when it goes to a new home. This has only been worn to take the above photo, and will come in a gift wrapped package at your request.

Instant Art: Blue Striped Lory & Blue Mountain Lory

Do I have any followers that are bird lovers? If so, I have a gorgeous print for you! I've planned to start incorporating some of my favorite vintage prints from Natural History Books from days gone by. Photography is nice, but there is just something so beautiful about vintage artwork that can't be beaten by the best high definition camera.

This particular print comes from The illustrated book of canaries and cage-birds, British and foreign (1878). It shows a Blue Striped Lory and Blue Mountain Lory, neither of which is actually blue. But both are very charming.

I took the liberty to offer you the unaltered version, right from the book, as well as one I edited to clean it up a bit.

 Original

Edited Version

To get this great print for yourself, just click on the image to enlarge it, and hit "Save As". Once you have it, resize it, and print! I suggest Acid-Free paper if you want the print to last. This would be a beautiful print for an office, workplace, bedroom, bathroom...well...anywhere really! This gorgeous pair of Lory's will add some color and charm to any room.

Love and Lightning Bugs,

Music Monday - Pocahontas "Colors of the Wind"

Growing up, I was like any normal little in girl, in that I LOVED Disney movies. One movie that I practically obsessed over as a child was Pocahontas. In fact, I had Pocahontas bed sheets, curtains, pillows, stuffed animals, birthday cakes (for 3 years) and I knew every single word to every single song, and the entire movie verbatim. I was 7, can you blame me?

One song that always meant more to me was "Colors of the Wind", as it's message was so very powerful to me. Respect our Earth, respect her people, and live in sync with our natural world.

Love and Lightning Bugs,

Little American Royal

So today, I competed in my first ever showmanship competition, Kansas State's yearly held Little American Royal.

The Little American Royal is a livestock showmanship contest held by the K-State College of Agriculture at Weber Hall, on the Kansas State University campus. It gives students, both experienced and beginner, the chance to learn how to properly show and ground handle a certain animal. The divisions are 'Experienced' and 'Novice', with the ability to show any of the following animals: Swine, Beef Cattle, Dairy Heifers, Sheep, Goats, and Equine. Due to my overwhelming passion for horses, I chose the Equine division.

Never having done this before, I was placed in the 'Novice' division. This meant that I was given a partner who was in the 'Experienced' division, and who was able to help me learn how to handle the same horse they would be using as well. My partner was named Marlana, and a delight to be sure! She was very kind, and very very patient with me. She never said one harsh or mean word, and helped me remember to keep calm and just have fun.

Now...showing horses is much different than showing the other animals, in that Equine is the only species you have to show with a pattern involved. You don't get the pattern until the day of the show, so you really have no idea what you'll be doing in the show arena. The video below is an example of a pattern that you have to show the horse with...and it's not nearly as easy as it looks. 

Within all patterns, you have a walk, a trot, a pivot, a back-up, and an inspection, the order of these is up the to the judge. For our pattern, we had to set up our horse at cone #1, walk them to the judge, set up and be inspected, then trot to cone #2, walk to cone #3, back up 5 steps, do a pivot, and trot off. For those who don't know, I thought I would go over some of the moves.

A pivot is where the horse has to make a circle, keeping one foot planted while moving around. The preferred foot is the inside foot, but either is acceptable. The pivot can be anything from 90 to 360 degrees, and then some. It's very difficult to keep a horse moving like this, without them stepping out of the pivot, and moving the planted foot.

During the inspection process, you have to 'set-up' your horse, which means getting their front and back feet square. As well as doing this, you have to follow the quartering system, which is what you see when the girl moves back and forth in front of the horse while the judge walks around. 

The Equine contestants were given just under a month to get their horses ready for the show, and every minute counted; they were babies. Most of the horses were two year olds, with a couple three year olds thrown in the mix.They were halter and lead broke, but didn't know anything that they needed to when it came to what was needed in the show ring.

Over the course of my time, I fell in love with my little 2 year old filly, named Freckles Supreme. Marlana and I just called her Freckles. Yup, she's the granddaughter of Colonel Freckles. She was a super fast learner and so great to work with. She was very mellow, and always wanted to nuzzle and love on you. The picture above is of her, and I really will miss her.

Over the course of our weeks with them, we had to teach them to read our body movements, not our vocal or lead rope commands. Some horses understood and caught on faster than others. We taught them to pivot, trot off, walk and stop with us, and back-up.

Today we showed, and all our hard work was put to the test. I didn't place, but I still had fun doing it. Maybe if I had stopped my pivot when I was supposed to, and not have continued around another time, I would have done better, lol. But my nerves got the best of me, and my brain went haywire. But I had fun, made some great friends, and learned to do something I didn't know before. I made a special hair tie for today, using a concho and some ribbon I had on hand. I'm thinking of maybe making these and selling them...I don't know yet.

 Below is my show gear today, nothing fancy, but I did get to keep the Tee shirt, and all the really great memories. I'll definitely try again next year!

Love and Lightning Bugs,

Solstice Giveaway!

Welcome to the Solstice Giveaway, presented by CouponTrade.com, Solsticesunglasses.com and Moms with Voices Media! 3 lucky winners will receive a $100 eGift Certificate for Solstice Sunglasses

CouponTrade.com is the newest location to save, because they offer both coupons AND discounted gift cards. Whats more? You can SELL your gift cards there too!

Solstice offers so many great styles and brands of sunglasses, you will have a hard time choosing how to spend your prize! Best of all, free shipping and returns!

Entry is simple, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Love and Lightning Bugs,

Avoiding April Showers Giveaway Linky!

Welcome to the Avoiding April Showers Giveaway Event! I told you about this event a few weeks ago. This event is hosted by Put A Little Umbrella In Your Drink, My Mommy's World, Taking Time For Mommy and And The Little Ones Too. This event features giveaways with a value of $25 or more at each of the participating blogs! Be sure to visit each blog from the linky below and enter for your chance to win! This event will close on April 30th at 11:59 pm EST. Good Luck!

My prize for this event is a custom designed background and header made by myself! Do you like the background and header on this blog? Want something that will look great but still be functional and easy to navigate, with not too much clutter? Then this is the prize for you! I will be contacting the winner within 48 hours of the end of the giveaway, and we can start your consultation and the creative process. This package is worth $25, so Good Luck, and have fun entering all these great giveaways!

Music Mondays: Yann Tiresen "La Rupture"

Time for another Music Monday! Remember, if you'd like to link up your own Music Monday posts below, please do so! Here is the button and code if you'd like to use them upon linking up. 

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Today I wanted to talk about one of my favorite French Artists: Yann Tiersen. The thing I adore about his music most is the sheer passion he shown through such simple instruments. He uses toy pianos, accordions, lutes, piano, and a wonderful array of sounds to get his musical point across. Many of his songs have no words at all, but I included this one, as it's my absolute favorite.

This song, called 'La Rupture', has never failed to make me feel better about my day. I actually have a very hard time not swaying to the music, or humming along. The music he creates has a way of moving your heart, and you can easily paint a very vivid picture in your mind when listening.




Love and Lightning Bugs,

My Family

Time for another Shutterbug Saturday!

You'll have to excuse me, as I'm blogging between storms right now. It's tornado central across this state tonight, and all I can think of is my family, and how far away they are.

This is my little brother, father, and mother.

 Kristopher and I had a very love'hate relationship growing up...well...it was more of him loving, and me hating. But once I moved out...I miss that kid so much. He's going into the Air Force in June.

My father there is probably the greatest man I have ever known. We love all the same things, read the same books, have the same nerdy sense of humor, and I miss him so much every day.

My mother is one of the most beautiful women I know, inside and out. She's so kind and helpful, and I got all my artistic talents from her. She has a way of making you feel calm and collected no matter what is going on.

In the midst of tornadoes tonight, and the midst of non-stop sirens, I miss these people the most right now. Gotta go!

Love and Lightning Bugs,

Small Giveaway!

I've been in a great mood lately, and I thought I should share the cheer! I'm having a small giveaway, which consists of a bit of custom designed blog wear. Nothing huge, but something to perk up your look just a touch.

I'm offering two prizes. The first is a set of custom designed Blog Labels. These can be used for your page labels, or for anything else you really want. Here's a bit of my work...and as with everything else, the labels on this blog as well.

The next is a custom designed button promoting your blog, website, facebook, whatever! It's up to you. :)

I know it's not huge, but I hope you'll like this giveaway none the less.