Breathing Place

If your lucky
you have a few places where you can go to too 'breathe easier'...

Special places you can run to to relieve stresses, even if but momentarily.
A place where your views can alter & shift if you care to tend to them...
Or a place where you mind & heart can take a break & breathe in some silence along with your lungs.

I have several such spots...
In the house snuggling with bunnies or outside watching them play is a top spot for me.

At the waterside watching sunsets ranks top priority often.
On golden country roads with my honey, with the top off our Jeep is definitely a favourite as well.

And, in the sparkling quiet of a magical forest is another favourite of mine.
(I took these photos at one of my breathing places recently).

As a child, I grew up running wild about the trees and water.

There was a large forest behind my childhood house and it was my 2nd home.

As long as we checked in with our parents occasionally and were back in time for dinner,
we roamed and played in that forest as comfortably as in our own bedrooms.

My big brother, my pals and I were always fooling and running around amongst the
trees & ponds like bare-footed carefree bandits.
It was full of bears, raccoons, partridges, beavers, foxes, etc but we were never scared.
Now as an adult, I am still always happy to run about my old stomping grounds...
though admittedly now some trepidation can't help but join me
since we do have cougars roaming around now!

Now these place don't just hold magical memories of childhood,
they are beautiful breathing places...
places to center ones self & remember what is really important in life.

Where do you tend to breathe deeply, where do your stresses slip away???

XO Mandy

p.s. I think I might be taking a tiny little blog break...so I'll be seeing you all again in early August.

A Thundery Monday

I love days full of thunderstorms and strong rains...

day with blustery winds and power outages...

Day full of time with coloured pencils and a little rabbit creation in the works...

Days where the rain keeps all of us inside as snug as little happy bugs...

With snoring and dreaming bunnies stretched out at my feet as I colour...



Days where the rain and cozy gloom suddenly takes a turn to find the sun bursting out

just at the very end of the day...drenching my studio in golden perfect light...

Making me breathe in a deep deep breath of peacefulness & thankfulness.

Ahhh...I love days steeped in coziness and calm and beautiful light.

Today was just such a day.

And I am feeling grateful.

Ribbet and Rabbits

Well it was a lovely day despite another day with a bad headache turned migraine.

I've had a very sore head the last 10 days out of 15,

and admittedly, my nerves have been feeling alittle shoddy and my spirits a tad low.

So, I said to myself...

'Mandy go to your happy place girl, come on, stop wasting time...'

So outside I went, dragging 3 bunnies with me along with my coloured pencils, lunch, a book, a tea

and a pile of cozy blankets and ice packs for frequent pain breaks!

Amongst romping rabbits, breezes and birds, I started in on this sweet little coloured pencil frog...

I haven't been outside much so far this year,

Which isn't me...
I usually spend all my time outside in the spring, summer & fall with the buns and my work.

But, since Ella Luna has passed, I just haven't wanted to be out there without her.

I am glad I broke out of my little funk and remembered that I still have

to be happy out there even without my girl...that it is still indeed a very happy place to be.

I am happy also, that despite a pounding head, I got the little frog almost done...

He's going to be a mixed media and I can't wait to finish him up and then show you all.

I truly hope that you are pain-free today and that your in your Happy place.

My House May Be Full Of Rabbits But...

My house may be full of rabbits
(and my heart is definitely craving to make a trip to the shelter to bring home more!)
But I have much love for any animal out of our rabbity home too.
Like my little buddy & my parents sweet little dog Missy.

I took some photos of her recently and thought I'd share my favourite ones.

Isn't she a cutie, ha ha.

She and I are bonded and I love visiting my folks cause I get to visit with Missy too.

My parents can't even say my name in their house without the dog freaking right out

& running all over looking for me, ha ha...I love that.

XO An Animal Loving Mandy

Bring Yourself Peace

Happy Monday Everyone. 
I hope your weekend was wonderful & that you managed to stay cool.
It was a scorcher here
& our weekend plans were cancelled because leaving the buns in the hot house just wasn't an option.

Anyhoo...
I finished reworking another older mixed media, adding more texture & layers...

only 2 more to go before I start showing you the newest incarnation of my mixed media ladies.

This one has been retitled

"Bring Yourself Peace"

It measures approx 5.5" x 16"

and is a mixed media with a coloured pencil face & wings with sweet buttons & other flourishes!

She's sitting in my shop already just so anxiously awaiting the person who will adopt her

and love her message of self love and inner peace.

Thanks for your time today.

XO Mandy Whose Off To Hug A Bunny

Bunny & Juice

There's not much cuter than a bunny drinking their favourite juice.

Look at that little pink tongue, awwww....

and the tilt of the head seems to be saying 'yuuuummmmmyyyyy'....ha ha



Jaks and Jin just love apple juice and orange juice so once a week we gladly give them a little bowl.

The bonding process between Jin, Jaks and Roo still continues.

Jaks and Roo were pretty fast friends but Jinny and Roo still don't like one another very  much so far.

We'll keep trying!

Wish Us Luck

XO Mandy, whose loving her ink pens and canvas drawings this week...can't wait to show you guys.

Love & Light & A Rabbits Spirit Shining Through

It's taken me awhile after loosing our Ella Luna to even feel a slight interest in working,

but the spark has come back to me finally.

I am feeling my beautiful girl in every stroke and stitch I make.

To ease myself in, I've been reworking some more old 'Wee Whispies'.

I just finished off this little lovely...

This one is called "Love & Light"

and is she not a little sweet-pea?
She is a 5.5" x 9" mixed media on a pine block.
She was made with paper, paint, marker, buttons, coloured pencil & some other lovlies like little butterflies.
And she has recieved several coats of varnish for protection.
She is ready to be shipped & easily hung in your home.

I have just listed her in my Etsy shop.

So if your interested do hop on by, have a look

and buy her to add some joy and whimsy to your home from mine.

XO A Book-Worm Mandy

New Felt Brooch with Green Bird & Green Button

I just finished up another sweet one of a kind brooch.

This one with a cool little green bird with a green button

It measures approx 3" x 3" and 4.5" with the dangly bit.

And, it's already listed for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Have a joyful, inspired and shining weekend XO

New Felt Brooch with a Purple Bird & A Red Button

I just finished up this lovely new handmade felt brooch

with a sweet little

Purple Bird & Red Button

It is made with recycled felt of various colours, a vintage button, glass beads

and is all hand-stitched with embroidery floss.

It will add whimsy, colour and joy to any bag or purse, blouse or sweater.

This brooch is one of a kind.

It measures 23/4" x 4.5". Several layers of stitched felt adds a nice strength to this piece.

There a 1.5" silver clasp on the back for easy pinning.

It will come with a sweet little purple organza bag, perfect for safe keeping or giving as a gift.

and

It is up for grabs RIGHT HERE.

XO Mandy & Roo, Jinny & Jaks

Bouncing

I never really got it...Trampolines.

These big ugly eye-sores in peoples yards.

BUT now I get it....

They are just plain fun fun fun.

Now I wish I had room in my yard for one!

Now I get it, ha ha.

p.s.  Back to some artwork soon, I promise!

Hot 'Hamburgur' Sandwiches

It's a common misconception that vegetarians can't enjoy the normal foods a meat eater does.

We can enjoy most of the same dishes as carnivores, we just use meat substitutes.

Like soy burger,

then we can have our own delicious version of yummies such as

Hot 'Hamburger' Sandwiches

A comfort food to boot...and healthy as you can see.

(we enjoy this dish quite often, it's one of our favourites, quick & super easy)

To Make:

Just take a package of your favourite soy burger, lately we like to use 'Yves'.

Put a smidgen of Olive Oil in your pan, cook and brown the meat for a few minutes on medium heat.

Than make a meat-free gravy.  We use Club House's brown gravy, it's vegetarian believe it or not!

Pour the gravy onto the cooked soy meat and stir and warm up well...

Than put the mixture between your favourite bread.

Serve piping hot and with lots of your favourite veggies. 

We usually do steamed carrots, brussel sprouts, green beans

and roasted red peppers with ours.

Voila!

Hot 'Hamburger' Sandwiches for the veg-heads.

You gotta try it if you've already not, you'll love it it, I am sure.

 It's been so long since I had any meat I can't promise that I remember how meat tastes, ha ha.

But I do promise that this recipe kicks butt and takes names...

and honestly, to us anyways, it's better than the meat version because it's healthier & so much yummier because being vegetarian is just living a kind life...and that suits my honey and I perfectly.

Enjoy!

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Father's Day

to the two wonderful men in my life...

My dad, whose always always there for us...

we LOVE you Dad.

and to my Bunny Honey...

he's a daddy to my heart of hearts...all of the bunnies we've shared our life with thus far.

He does it spectacularly and unlike any other...

LOVE you baby,

And Ella Luna from up above, Roo Boo, Jinster, Jaky & all of our other angels, Love Love Love you too.

XXOO

Outdoor Delights

I can't help but share more photos of all the lovelies outside currently delighting my heart and soul...

There is so much going on outside...it's beautiful.
Our backyard is so full of trees & is quite wild so there's always lots of activity.
Right now we have a family of baby raccoons living in the shed!
We can't let them stay because raccoons and bunnies just don't mix...
though Jon has agreed to not to chase them away for another couple of weeks
because right now they are really tiny & fuzzy and Oh My God SUPER CUTE!
but so small that I don't want them to get hurt...I am hoping the mama will relocate them on her own.

I'll just have to pay extra close attention to the buns when we go out into the yard.

Our lilac trees are attracting tons of butterflies.

The grey squirrel had FOUR babies,
The red squirrel had atleast two.

Ella Luna and I used to spend hours upon hours just snuggling together by the back door,

watching their silly squirrely antics...they are simply adorable.

I love the fact that I lead a life
where I can allow myself hours to just sit with house rabbits and a tea
and watch squirrel siblings wrestle amongst the tree branches
or take their very first trepidation filled steps onto the deck for tempting peanuts.

I am so glad that I make the time every day to enjoy the simple beauties in life...

I hope you can make or find the the time to do so too.

XO Mandy who is in love with her little house and yard full of creatures.



The Duck & Empathy

I am pretty upset today...

One of the court ducks was killed yesterday morning.

He was sleeping under someones car and they ran over him.

Jonathan tried to spare me the truth...he knew I'd be really upset & angry,

but I have good ears, I am good at reading body language & I had noticed

the female all alone that day and I was wondering where her partner was.

It's so so sad to see the female all alone.

Whenever they were separated, you'd hear them calling and calling for the other.

They had been coming to our court for atleast 10 years.

Every spring I looked forward to seeing them.

Every year I dreaded that something happened to them whenever they were late in arriving.

Every summer they waddled around the whole court, they were part of the neighbourhood,

everyone sort of watched out for them...

I'd run out and yell at kids or people with dogs to leave them alone when I saw they were being bothered.

All of us knew to look under and around our cars before we backed up, it was just part of summer.

And he was killed by someone visiting the court, someone who didn't know better...

He will be missed.

He was part of this worlds magic and beauty.

Sometimes people think I am overly empathetic...

but I don't want to be one of the cold-hearted of this world.

I fight this world's abrasiveness by bearing my sensitive soul...

sure it's cut to the quick and hurts alot of the time...

but I feel beauty & love and all of the sweet sweet goodness
in between even more acutely because of that.

I won't brush off something like this with a snarky little 'Well he shouldn't have been under a car'...

It's true, he shouldn't have been, BUT it's still very sad what happened, I am not ashamed to admit that.

I don't want to be numb in anyway,  I want to feel it all...

that is after all part of this journey...part of being human.

To be full of empathy and sensitivity, to feel everything fully, is a gift.

It is not a weakness...it shows strength,

because those of us willing and open to this crazy worlds rollarcoaster

looks sadness, unfairness, despair and all the other negative stuff straight on,

we take it in, we feel it and than we walk away not more brittle, not sanded down...

but preciously more aware, more in tune, more appreciative...

and that too, in my humble opinion is part of a successful journey of being human.

Empathy means:

Having the capacity to recognize feelings that are being experienced by another

sentient or semi-sentient being.

Who in the world doesn't want this ability to flow freely through them...I sure do...

Because, well one needs to have a certain amount of empathy in them so that they can feel Compassion...

and I for one, want to be a fully functioning Compassionate person....it's who I am.

...to care oodles about ducks that aren't even mine...

to shed some tears...to light some candles to wish his spirit a lovely journey to the next part...

It's like I always say, "It's Simple Part Of The Magic That Makes Me...ME".

RIP little guy...may you be waddling much faster in the next part XO.