Sneaky Peeky and Podcast Link

Hi my friend!  I hope you have been having a good week and a good March so far. The weather has been absolutely nuts around here. One day it is almost 80 the next day it's 40! Mother Nature is certainly not happy.

This week I want to share a little sneaky peeky of something new that I will be debuting either late April or early May. It's called "The Shell Collector."

This new design will be part of a whole new rabbit hole I am hopping down and I'm really excited to share it with you. I will have lots to tell in the coming months and look forward to having you join me on this new adventure.

Also, I was delighted to be a guest on Pat Sloan's podcast. It was six years ago the last time I was guest. Good gracious time has flown by!

If you would like to listen, you can hop on over HERE. I'm the fourth guest on the show. The other guests were wonderful to listen to as well. It's always love hearing a person's story and all about their creative journey.

Have a relaxing weekend and I'll see ya back here next week!

Hugs and friends,
Michelle and the fuzzy ones

This week from Bunnyville...

Hi ya!

First, I want to thank you for your kind comments on last week's post. Blogging has been part of my life for a very long time now and so much has changed. It's not the number of comments I was concerned with, it was the number of readers. Well that and how many ridiculous "Spam" comments I get from bots that I then have to go and delete. It's so annoying! However,  I decided I will continue on here for a while longer and just see how it goes. It's truly nice to share this little place in my world with you.

So... that being said, here is this week from Bunnyville.

David finished painting the guest bedroom. While he was at it, he also painted my bookcase. It was handmade by a friend 27 years ago. It's real, solid wood. No press board crap! I still love books and enjoy collecting special ones. The afghan at the bottom of the bed was handmade by my dear friend Jade. It's alpaca yarn and is soooooooo warm! I'm designing a pillow for the bed and will be offering it in my shop once I get it done.

My office is the only room left to paint here at Bayfield Cottage. Once it's done, the entire cottage will have been painted inside and out. It sure did need it and we are both really happy with how it looks. My signature, calm, clean and serene.

I actually did my little inchie about my books.  :)

I'm pretty sure I will frame this when I'm done traveling with it. I will probably hang it in my office. It's so much fun going back and looking at them. So many people have been inspired to start their own project.

I added this really nice embroidery stitch guide to my shop.

I also added 16" x 16" pieces of 100% wool felt and

the iron on hexies that I'm using in my "Within an Inch of My Life" project. Hop on over to my SHOP if you would like to get them or some precut hexies and some Valdani too. The bunnies and I truly appreciate your friendship and support of our small business.

This is a little lemon tree my friend Patty gave me. It's been so cold here that I moved it into our bathroom where the sun just pours in. I think it's really happy here in this vintage pewter cup.

Of course, Sabrina knows what do do when it's cold outside. She finds her spot in the sun. She's so funny. She loves to sleep on a towel. Every morning when I make the bed, I have to put her towel on there too. Precious girl.

I was feeding Henry and Hannah this morning when I saw something fly by the window. I looked out to see this beautiful hawk sitting on the fence. It then few over to a tree and joined it's mate. I know they were discussing breakfast options. I told Henry and Hannah they should be very lucky they live inside and were not on the menu! ;)

Finally, I had a scare with Henry on Sunday and again last night. He stopped eating. We bunny parents know that it is not good when rabbits don't eat. It can literally be life threatening. The problem is fur. He has been shedding like crazy. All that nasty, yellow fur has been coming out in clumps. Even though I get tons off of him every day, rabbits groom themselves like cats do. However, unlike cats, they cannot cough up a hairball. Instead, the fur must pass through them, thus the reason they need a lot of hay and water.

I did all my tricks giving him drops for gas, making him run around the studio and syringing water into him. Luckily, that worked both times. This morning he was back to his normal self and I can say that the big shedding is over! Whew! It's always so scary with these fragile little creatures and needless to say, I didn't get much sleep either night. Little bugger.

See ya back here next week!
Michelle and the fuzzy ones

Hoppenings here in Bunnyville

Hi friend! How's your week been so far? Mine is busy but good. I have been thinking about this little old blog again. There use to be a time when I looked at my stats and saw that around 1200 people read my posts. Now.... I'm lucky there are 100. Is blogging just dead? Has Facebook and all other forms of Social Media really taken over? Hmmmm.... we'll see. What do you think?

Anyway, I wanted to share some "hoppenings" going on around here.

I have a small problem... I'm totally addicted to these cookies!!! LOL! They are so good. I eat two of them every day with my tea/coffee break. Sometimes... I eat them for breakfast!!!

My "Within and Inch of My Life" project continues to grow. I love working on this and friends in my Facebook group are having fun too!

Here's the one I did in honor of Dr. King. Love over hate always. I am completely worn out with all of the hate in the world right now. I try my best to focus on good things that we are all blessed with. Some days it's easier than others.

Indeed!

The moon has been so magical the last few nights. It's so pretty when it shines through the bare trees. I love looking at it and making wishes. :)

This is my talented and fun friend, Patty Marsden. She is an excellent seamstress.

This 100% wool coat was given to me by a quilt guild friend. She thought I might like to cut it up for my artwork. Instead, Patty made lots of alterations to make it a petite size and also replaced the lining.

I now have a classic dress coat to wear! I love it with my bunny scarf my sweet friend, Sallieann Harrison, brought me from England.

I actually just took this photo while I was writing this post. Hannah was giving Henry some kisses. Not like she has a choice. He literally just throws himself at her and demands to be groomed. My bunny friends understand this best. ;)

Hugs and see ya next week!

Michelle, the Bunnies and Sabrina kitty too

A Quick Hop In

Hi my friend! Hannah here. I'm hopping in really quick for Mama this week as she is getting ready to hit the road and head out on her first "Play Date" of the year. She's super excited to be spending some time with the Charlottesville Quilters at their retreat. She was suppose to teach for them in September, but Hurricane Florence had other plans for her and us! ;) They were kind enough to rebook her at their retreat and I know they will have lots of fun!

Henry and I are friends, but I still like to have my own room. I'm old and set in my ways and that teenage boy can be a bit much sometimes. Plus, I really like having my own potty. When he uses mine, he gets in there and digs and makes a large mess....juvenile.  I prefer things to be tidy.

Mama is fine with me having my own room in our condo. When Daddy snores at night, she wishes she had her own room.

She likes to hang out with us in the living room. We all agree it's the best part of the day.

Sunday is laundry day here at Bayfield Cottage. It's also known as Sabrina's favorite day of the week.

That cat has a thing for towels. Mama now puts a towel on the bed just for her.

Henry and I try to be friends with Sabrina, but she's a chicken and runs out of the room with her tail all puffed up! Crazy thing!

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Mama will be back here next week with some photos from her gig.

Bunny hugs to you!
Hannah

A Hop through Bunnyville

Well hellooooooooo and Hoppy New Year! I must say that I am really happy that 2019 is here. Last year was emotionally rough on me, but like everything, one lives and one learns. I'm headed into this year with fresh eyes and a little bit of sass to boot! LOL!!! ;)

David finished painting my studio! We moved into Bayfield Cottage in April of 2017. Slowly, we have been painting each room and the outside of the cottage too! My studio has had spackle all over for months, but now is fresh and clean and.... I looooooove it! What a wonderful Christmas present he gave me!

So here's a little hop around. As you head up the stairs, Blackie Bunny is there to greet you. He is the keeper of the gate. I pet his head on the way up as a ritual to get the creative energy flowing.

This is how the room looked before we painted. The green grey walls were waaay to dark for my liking. I don't like dark walls, especially in a studio. I need as much light as I can get.

Here's how it looks after a fresh coat of Sherwin Williams, Aged White. I know all the grey colors are in style now, but I'm not one to follow what everyone else is doing. Plus.... grey makes me depressed. I can't stand it. It makes me feel like I'm living in a rain cloud or worse yet, in the middle of a hurricane! LOL! Anyway, I love warm whites and this was the perfect color for my Calm, Clean, Serene aesthetic. I also purchased this kitchen island from a local family. It's custom made, super heavy and solid wood. I use this island to put kits together and package orders. I also sit on the stool and draw here.

This is what the island looked like when I got it. It was a distressed ivory color, which was nice, but I wanted to paint it black to anchor the room.

Sabrina is such a good girl and doesn't jump on any counter tops or furniture she not supposed to be on. She knows what places she is allowed to hang out. She loves this little hidey spot in the basket in the island.

The light coming into this room is absolutely wonderful. I'm going to make something to go in the frames.

As you look around Bunnyville, you will notice that I don't have a lot of "stuff" everywhere. To be honest, I can't function in clutter. I'm claustrophobic and if too much stuff is around, I can't work or be creative. My eye needs to rest on clean surfaces. Also, I practice the art of "Lagom," which means "not too little, not too much." I'm not a minimalist and I'm not a hoarder. I'm simply somewhere in the middle and choose to surround myself with things that have meaning. My supplies are tidy, organized and placed behind closed doors and cabinets.

So that being said, while I have a lot of artwork and gifts from friends, I decided to keep things simple here in Bunnyville, giving me good work surfaces to design and package orders. Here are some things I chose to display.

This hat box was painted for me by my friend Becky Wheeler in 1998. It says, "The Raspberry Rabbits Tea Room." When she gave me this piece, I said, "Oh wow... if I ever have a business, I'm going to call it The Raspberry Rabbits." Now you know where I got the name. ;)

I have always loved and admired the work of folk artist, Jo James of Cart Before the Horse. Years ago, I commissioned her to make this piece for me.

Esmeralda is my muse. She was painted for me by my incredibly talented friend, Jules Woolford. I have a lot of Jules' artwork in my cottage. She is one of my most favorite artists, not to mention a dear friend.

Buddha Bunny was given to me by my friend, Judy Currie. He always brings peace and positive energy to Bunnyville. I rub his belly for luck. ;)

This felted bunny was made by folk artist, Susan Pilotto.  My friend, Margaret Bouwmeester, gave it to me as a gift. Stitched on the pincushion in French, it says, "The Raspberry Rabbit." LOVE!

This tree of life is a new piece of art that I purchased this year. It is handmade by an artisan in Haiti. It is cut from an old oil barrel.

Ortega the bunny is an original piece of folk art I found in Savannah, GA. It's signed by the artist, Joe Ortega. The paper cut is a gift from my friend Lydia. I had it professionally framed by my friends, Mary Ann and Mary Kay. There is also a little wooden box from my friend, Sallieann Harrison.

Here's a close up of the little box,  I just love it.

Another treasured paper cut from Lydia, Charlie the rabbit sitting on my box of dreams, an antique pincushion and a real ivy plant. I prefer real plants or dried flowers over plastic "fish tank" looking greenery.

David bought this lamp for me many years ago for our anniversary. The plant is also real. It's baby tears. The pincushion was made for me by my dear friend Donna Liljegren. The coaster is my rabbit logo and was needle punched for me by fellow designer and friend, Missie Carpenter.

Time spent in Bunnyville is always time well spent. I purchased this clock from Pottery Barn Teen many years ago. It broke this summer and I found a company to fix it. It took a month to get it back, but it was worth it. I didn't want to throw it in the landfill. People throw too much away anymore.

Eventually, I will have all the carpet taken out and replaced with wood floors. Yes, carpet is another thing I can't stand. Dirty, dusty and the space between the carpet and baseboard gets so icky and is a pain to clean! Yep... I'm a clean freak. ;)

Thank you for visiting with me and for taking a hop through Bunnyville! I'll see ya back here next week.

Light, love and friends,
Michelle, the Bunnies and Sabrina kitty too

Blogging and Henry the VIII

Well hellooooooooo my friends! Did you think I ran away? Well, I kinda did. I was exhausted from all the goings on in November and traveling to Houston and well, life in general. I needed some time to sit and just "be." Sometimes, as a creative person with a creative business that has to wear many hats and keep up with everything, I simply need to take a break.

I must say that the break did me some good. My world has become so go, go, go with all this social media stuff. It can be exhausting. I have found that I miss the old days of blogging. It was so much fun to hop in and visit with friends, peer into their worlds, read their stories and share their adventures. It was one of my most favorite hobbies.

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest... they have all become a flash of information overload. I feel like everything is just coming at me at once and it's overwhelming trying to keep up. Now, while I enjoy visiting with friends there, and I enjoy being able to share things instantly on my pages, I find that I miss the slowness, calmness and peacefulness of blogging. So, starting today, I am going to return to posting on this little old blog every Wednesday. If you would like to follow along, you can sign up (on the right sidebar) to receive my posts in your inbox.

Ok now that I have said that, I want to share something really exciting with you! I would like to introduce my newest family member here at Bayfield Cottage, Henry the VIII.

I named him this as he is my 8th adopted rescue rabbit.


"Henry the VII? Does this mean I'm royalty?"

For a while now I have been thinking about getting another bunny so that Hannah bunny would have company when I travel with teaching. David is wonderful about taking care of her and Sabrina, but they are my babies and he doesn't dote on them like I do. Plus, it has been 3 1/2 years since I lost Harrington and while I will always miss him and could never replace him, my heart was ready to love and give a forever home to a bunny in need.

"Mama, I'm lonely when you go away for work."

Here's Henry's story:

During hurricane Florence in September, Henry was found running lose in a neighborhood. A lady found him and kept him for a while trying to find his owner. After several weeks and no luck finding his owner, she took him to the animal shelter. Here he sat and again nobody came to claim him.

My local rabbit rescue, The New Hanover County Rabbit Rescue, went to the shelter to get him as they didn't want him to be euthanized. Henry was a mess. His legs and belly had urine scald from him being kept in a small nasty cage. I feel like he was probably kept in a wire bottomed hutch in someones back yard and was left there during the hurricane. Poor little lass.

There was just something about him that made me fall in love with him instantly. Maybe it was his wonky ear, which reminded me of my beloved Harrington, or maybe it was his story after thinking about him outside during that horrific hurricane. I just knew I had to contact my rescue and inquire about him.

Well, he was neutered two weeks ago and last Wednesday I brought him home. I was going to just "foster" him for a while to see how he did with Hannah. The rescue said they thought he was around 6 years old and I thought that would be good with my 9 to 11 year old gal. Well, he's totally not even close to being 6. He runs around and gets into everything like a toddler! LOL!!! He makes me laugh so hard. I honestly think he was a typical Easter bunny child gift that got tossed out in a pen in the back yard when the child got bored with him. Grrrrrr..... Anyway, I think he definitely not more than 3 years old and maybe younger. Vets can never really tell with bunnies who are between a year and six years old.

One loaf of bun.

Needless to say, by Saturday, three days after I thought I would foster him, I knew I would never let him go and I officially adopted him. Yep, I'm a sucker for super cute, fuzziness!

"What's that you say? I'm super cute and I get to stay? Yaaaaaay!"

He and Hannah are both the sweetest bunnies and there has been no fighting or stomping. They will eventually share the same playpen, but for now, it is supervised play dates as he still has some "testosterone" in him and I don't want him jumping on Hannah's back and hurting her.

"Tell him to stop with the humping already! Geesh!"

This is a painting that my friend Val painted and gave to me three years ago. It's called "Sir Henry in the Garden." I think it is rather perfect hanging here in the forever home of Henry the VIII.

I'm looking forward to sharing more stories about the bunnies, Sabrina kitty, Bayfield Cottage and lots of creative adventures here in my little place in the crazy social media world. A place where we can all just visit for a bit and really connect with one another like we use to do.

We'll see ya back here next Wednesday. Until then, have a peaceful and Very Hoppy Christmas!

"That's right Henry. You got it. This is called the 'mush your face to the floor and look super cute look.' Mama can't resist it. She will stop everything to pet us and give us a treat."

Hugs and friends,
Michelle and the fuzzy ones