Blogging from 30,000 Feet! Soaring High on WIFI

So right now as I type I'm flying over the Mississippi and I'm actually online!  Whooo hoooo . . . How cool is that? For me, as a crazy, can’t get enough web surfing in,  this to me is "Over the Moon" or maybe "Over the USA" COOL! hehehe! And the only thing keeping me from a non-stop ride on the internet waves  (until the flight attendant recites over the loud speaker, turn off all electronic devices) is my battery . . . which as I just checked only has about 38 minutes of life left.  So my first ride may be shorter than I would have liked, but still very exciting just the same!  (Note to self: Order battery from Dell when I get home)

As much time as I spend traveling I know that I'll be on the lookout for more GoGo Wifi fun!

So, as I am floating high above the clouds so are my thoughts.  Flying always gets me thinking creatively . . . how can you help but daydream as you float along and dream of far away places, imaginary characters that might grace the next Pop Art Mini or a doll that's just waiting to be born! 

Ok, short and sweet this time . . . I'm off now for one more quick surf before my board, oops, I mean my battery decides to take a dive!

Dream Big and Let Your Imagination SOAR!

Grow! Poppies! Grow! The Coach Poppy Project

What's that at the left side of the page? It's the Coach Poppy Garden! Help it grow by clicking on the black Poppies! A tweet screen will pop up and all you have to do is click "Tweet It"! Easy and with that one click the garden will bloom...you may even see a fun surprise pop up! Now wouldn't that be fun!
So remember . . . the tweets make the garden grow . . . so keep tweeting!
Black Poppies create a tweet from Pop Art Minis right to Twitter!
The Poppy Coach Project posts new prizes daily and one might even show up on our Pop Art Minis Blog so check back and tweet it out daily...every hour...every minute! Ok, I'm getting carried away!
GROW! POPPIES! GROW!
Thanks for helping the Pop Art Minis Coach Poppy Garden Grow!

The Poppy Project is painting the web Poppy and creating a network of great sites. Remember, we'll be hiding Poppy surprises along the trail, and the more you visit, tweet and share a site's pattern, the more unique it will grow.

It's A GIVE AWAY at Pop Art Minis! Let the Celebration Begin!

Pop Art Minis is Celebrating another milestone of 600+ "LIKES" on our Facebook Page! Yippee!!!! And as a special Thanks for helping Pop Art Minis grow we're giving away a fun collection of "BOO-ti-FULL" Halloween Candles!  All you have to do is "LIKE" Pop Art Minis on Facebook and POST A COMMENT on the "GIVE AWAY WALL POST" . . .  something like . . ."Hey, I want to WIN" or "Count Me IN"!  That's it . . . you'll be entered for the chance to win the candle package pictured here!  What's all included: 17 Candles plus the container filled with scented potpourri and tagged . . . BOO! So Let the fun begin and I hope you win! (Entries accepted until midnight Aug. 18, 2010. Winner will be posted Thursday, Aug. 19) BONUS! BONUS! BONUS!

Join us here on our Pop Art Minis Blog and leave a comment under this post . . . you'll also be entered for a chance to win a $10.00 credit in our Ebay Candle Store good towards any item of your choice! (Winning post will be selected via random.org)

3"x6" Halloween Pillar * Tin w/Fall Potpourri

6-3" Hallow Nubbie Tapers & 3 Candy Corn Votives

2 Jack-o-Lantern Votives

2 Black Cat Taper Candles & 3 Pumpkin Crunch Votives

Celebrate the 71st Anniversary of The Wizard Of Oz with Adora Dolls

WOW! Can you believe that it's been 71 year's since the release of one of the greatest and most loved movies of all times, The Wizard Of Oz?  I can remember watching this classic over and over again and never getting tired of the it!  I'm sure most of us can recite the most famous lines from the movie without even thinking twice and we all definitely know that "there's no place like home".  So this being the official anniversary date I thought it would be fun to share the officially licensed Wizard of Oz Collection from of Adora Dolls.  I will have to admit I'm sharing this particular collection as I had the pleasure of working on the product development of these little cuties.  It was definitely a fun experience and I'm pretty excited and  happy with the way they turned out! 

Dorothy, Glinda, The Wicked Witch, Tin Man, Scarecrow and last but certainly not least The Cowardly Lion have all been created as cute and cuddly babyized versions of the fantastic characters from Oz.

These cute as can be dolly's are available for purchase from specialty and toy retailer's that can be found listed here! For the complete catalog of Adora Dolls from dollmaker Charisma Brands check out their site here!

And if you're feeling the need to brush up on your Wizard of Oz trivia and fun facts here are some sites that might just help you find your way to Oz or back home whichever you prefer!

The Fifties Web

The Filmsite

The IMBD - Most Famous Quotes

And now, I believe I will head on down the yellow brick road for a little adventure in dreamland!

What's All The Buzz About A Place Called The Hive?

A few weeks ago I was on one of my typical google search and find missions and came across this new blogging site called The Hive. With a natural curiosity I started buzzing around and decided that hey, it's FREE why not join. After a couple days of reading posts and throwing out a couple of my own I realized that I could import my blog from my blogger account and with a couple quick clicks wha-la . . . 10 posts imported and all of a sudden the points started racking up...too fun, I thought!

I was hooked . . . a part of the The Hive . . . a true bee-liever. . . one of the working blogger bees! Ok, you get the picture! beehehehehe! (sorry I can't resist the bee-puns)

Creator's Melissa and John Marro (along with some other beehind the scenes creatives) are the geniuses behind creatingthehive.com . . . a social networking community for everyone who enjoys, works, lives, breathes the world of arts, crafts and hobbies! This place called The Hive has become a daily, sometimes hourly, well actually sometimes every few minutes read for me! With so much action you can become quite involved or if you only want to stay in the background and buzz quietly around that's perfectly fine too! It's fun, it's interactive and I can honestly say that I've made some amazing contacts through the site!

So what's so special about this blogging site over some of the others?

There's ALOT of interaction, support and encouragement.

Members take an interest in each other and really seem to care about reading your posts and actually leaving comments. I know that my personal blogger site can go weeks without a comment, but in The Hive you'll see comments and encouraging words daily!

There's also The Points! A definite motivation to keep blogging, commenting, sharing and interacting . . . and as much as I try and not think about it, well I do! LOL

So if you're looking for some good old fashioned fun, alot of interaction and encouragement from some amazingly creative and ingenious people you should check out THE HIVE!
You'll BEE glad you did!

Wickedly Cute Halloween Treats...Especially Sweet To Eat!

Sharing some "Wickedly Cute Halloween Treats"

that look especially good to eat!

Witches, and ghosts, black cats too

I'm sure you'll find something that will definitely tempt you!

Bewitching Cupcakes

 Parents

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups chocolate frosting

1 package (4-3/4 ounces chocolate cones (Nabisco Oreo Cones)

Orange nonpareils

1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting, divided

Neon-green food coloring

12 cupcakes, removed from paper liners

Chocolate chips

Green and red tube icing

Mike and Ike Tangy Twister candies

Chocolate Jimmies

Makes: 12

Directions

1. Place chocolate frosting in a freezer-weight zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Pipe base of cones, dip in orange nonpareils, and set aside.

2. Place 1/2 cup vanilla frosting in a another zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Tint remaining frosting green and frost cupcakes.

3. Turn cupcakes on sides, then place decorated cones on top. Using vanilla frosting, pipe eyes on cupcakes. Attach chocolate chips for pupils and pipe a dot onto chips. Use red icing for mouths, green icing for warts; shape candies into noses. Pipe chocolate icing onto cupcakes for hair and sprinkle with chocolate jimmies.

Funny Bones

Reader's Digest

Fun with pretzels and melted chocolate! Covered with a white chocolate coating, these treats are a tasty mix of sweet and salty. For the best effect, heap and jumble the little bones in a bowl rather than laying them on a plate.

Ingredients:

1 (12-ounce) package white chocolate chips (2 cups)

36 pretzel sticks and rods of various sizes

72 mini-marshmallows (about 1 cup)

Directions:

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

2. Place the chips in a double boiler over just-simmering water and melt, stirring frequently. As soon as the chips are just melted (There may even be a few solid ones left), removed the pan from the heat and remove the top section of the double boiler so the chocolate’s temperature doesn’t keep rising.

3. Stick marshmallows onto both ends of the pretzels, with the marshmallows’ flat sides parallel to the pretzel.

4. Dip each pretzel in the chocolate and lift out with a fork, letting the excess drip back in the bowl. Lay the bones on the baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at a cool room temperature.

Ghosts and Goblins Crispy Treat Pops

 Culinary.net

Ingredients

Makes 24 Pops

6 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 package (16 oz.) marshmallows

1 package (about 10 oz.) crisp rice cereal, divided Orange Icing Color

Cookie Sticks (6 or 8-in.)

Halloween Confetti Sprinkles

Preparation

Spray multi-cavity pumpkin and ghost pan with vegetable pan spray.

In large saucepan, melt butter; add marshmallows. Cook and stir until melted. Divide mixture in half; stir orange icing color into 1 portion. Add half of cereal to orange mixture; mix well. Repeat with remaining cereal and white marshmallow mixture. Press into prepared pan; carefully remove from pan and allow to cool. Insert cookie stick; add confetti eyes and mouth.

Black Cat Brownies

Better Homes & Gardens

Quick! Finish these cat brownies before they cross anyone's path and bestow bad luck. Form these felines from a pan of cooled brownies by using a cat-shape cookie cutter. Add two small red candies for eyes. Visit the Better Homes & Gardens website for more quick and easy Halloween Treats! MEOW!

All this searching for sweet Halloween Treats has made me hungry! I'm off to find something good to eat!

Look What The Stork Just Delivered!

I couldn't resist sharing some of the newest arrivals to the Paradise Galleries collection of delightful dolly's.  I know not everyone is a doll lover, but you have to admit that these cuties are just too fun and at the very least maybe, just maybe might bring a smile to your face or the face of someone that really loves dolls! 

The new Peapod Nursery collection by artist Laura Lee Eagles are adorable little bundles of joy complete with their own nursery ensemble, birth announcement and gift box. Tooooo cute!
Oh, and they would make a perfect gift to celebrate the birth of a new baby!

Lil' Ducky

Pretty in Pink

Lil' Boy Blue

Or how about this little one..."Whoo's That Cutie"?  She's owl-some in her little pink and cream ensemble. 

And one of my favs . . . "Baby Hugs" by artist Diana Effner.  I have always loved Diana's work and this little doll is just absolutely amazing. 

There's so many more beautiful babies that have just arrived in the Paradise Galleries nursery.  Check out their website amazing dolls, unbelievable prices and the special offers make these babies perfect in every way!