Book Review: Fairy Friends by Claire Freedman

Book Review ...

Fairy Friends

Author: Claire Freedman
Illustrator: Gail Yerrill

Published in 2007 by Little Tiger Press London
ISBN 10: 1845064666     13: 9781845064662

"Find a poem for YOUR best friend in this beautiful book about the friendships that fairies share."


This is a storybook about the importance of friendships whether you are a wee faerie or not. Drawn within patchwork borders, each page looks magical and enchanting as Ms. Yerrill has done an excellent job of sketching the cute expressive faces on the faeries as they each seem to be smiling right back at you. Told within the setting of pretty flower garden, Ms. Freedman tells a tale through a series of poems about the love that can be found when sharing with others. Throughout the book the faeries show you how to enjoy the fun days of summer including garden parties, finding fairy dust at the end of a rainbow and the hiding of tiny treasures.  



You can find this book at your library or you can purchase it through your local bookstore or online through both Amazon.ca and Amazon.uk. Ms. Freedman is a successful children's picture book author who resides in Essex, be sure to check out her acclaimed Aliens Love Underpants series too.

When picking out a new book for the Nursery's library, I guess I must be like any other faerie for as I look for the graphics, the colours and of course the uniqueness of a book and in this case who couldn't resist a cover that has purple and silver stars along with sparkly pink faerie dust floating in a bubble. I highly recommend this book to both children and adults as each verse told by Ms. Freedman brings with it a feeling of euphoria when explaining and depicting the beauty of friends and your friendships with them.

where'd the balloon go?

the celebration is over

(well for Faeries, is it really ever over?)

faces are no longer yellow

(but i'm sure that won't last too long)

someone has gone and weeded the garden

(how dare they)

tree trunks are still being used for chairs

(as everything is still way too dizzy and i hear 

that dance classes will begin immediately) 

bandaids and ice cubes are running out of supply

(should of known that when playing with 

the neighbourhood stingers 

pricklilies are bound to find little Faerie bums)

the pretty ribbons are still being found in the weirdest of places but not necessarily in braided Faerie hair but instead they seem to be twisted and intertwined around thorny roses bushes 

(do you know how hard it is to untie a ribbon 

from a rose bush? i have heard that 

more bandaids just might be in order)

singing, yes, singing, yes indeed, singing....

enough said about that

(hmmmmmm, yes, enough said about that)

i'm figuring that the frolicking and chatting away while playing in the mud needs to quiet down a bit as it just might help the Faeries and their friends to stay focused and to help their silly pom poms attached to their acorn hats from fallen off

(this activity needs to be readdressed to include water bottles, snacks and plump cushions 

to relax on along the way)

and lastly but not to be forgotten, what exactly was happening with those socks and shoes?

(that's all i need to know, how can socks be taken off all the while their shoes are still on?)

i can't even imagine what games and shenanigans the Faeries have in store for next year

but i'm hoping that the little girl that lives so close to the garden doesn't go ahead and pick the daisies as then i will need to find another hiding place

thank you for the fun and the giggles

 and tons of things to whisper

oh, and wasn't there something about a balloon?

Being Back But It Seems Like I Never Left?

Once again, the company's Facebook page has been re-opened I guess that might be the right wording to use?

I guess when you leave you hope to come back to a clean slate...sigh...unfortunately everything is exactly where I left it.

Previously one of the reasons that I had left, besides not being appreciated so to say about my art...were all of the 'false' likes that had started 'following' my page. Now, granted some of these I might have invited myself by joining sites that shared your pages with others but there is no way that I could have done all of these 2715!

I did notice though that when I put on freebies or a giveaway...and even ones that I had actually paid to have advertised, there were only a handful of entries from people that I even knew, some had been on my page previously and most/all people that had entered were out for  'the free buck' so to say.

With all of the above reasons I shut down Facebook altogether. I gave my closing date...even said goodbye. I did postings for almost 2 weeks on how everyone...anyone (please) could keep in touch, follow along, maybe even leave a comment or two.

Well, that all completely fell through! I had one or two FB friend's that followed our Instagram account, oh wait...those one or two also had visited here as well...and well ummm....ummm... ummm....Can you understand now why I felt the need to just go away?

I think perhaps the best way to deal with all of this nonsense is that I might look into just starting a new page? That might help, so to say...weed out those that aren't interested in my Enchanted Pathways Faerie Nursery.

As of today, well...maybe this weekend...this will be my goal. What is the point of having 2715 'like's' when I don't exist anyways?

Now, for those of you that have taken the time to listen, to read, to look at all of the pretty pictures, have visited our Website, Instagram, Flickr, Google+, Tweeter, Pinterest...well you get the idea...thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Actually, I don't think I can ever say thank you enough.

A Disappointment and a Thank You

I am not normally a complainer, who can be when you are surround by Faeries and amazing friends and family but I am having a really tough time today as someone reported my Facebook page as having something on it that they found disgraceful, rude, explicit or hurtful. 

Yesterday my computer completely crashed and Apple had to do a complete reinstall of my operating system. So, in the morning I was able to do my regular posting of the 'Thought of the Day' and then my second and final posting was to explain to everyone who follows my page why I had been absent (with Apple helping to reinstall my operating system). 

That was it. 

There were no other postings. 

Now, let's try to figure this out.

I didn't have an operating computer since 9:00 a.m. so in other words I had no computer and no internet? 

So, who would/could have reported my page? The mystery will never be solved and all that Facebook says is I have been reported for either a posting or something that someone else posted on my page. 

This 'lock out' can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days? So my posting today read this....'Well it seems that someone reported a post that I had made yesterday....and as I had no internet and only uploaded my regular 'Thought of the Day' and then explained why I had been absent or someone else posted something to my page that FB did not like, I have now been locked out from posting. So thank you to whomever reported me and I guess I will see you all once the lock out ends?'.

But for now I would like to sincerely say thank you to those of you that have commented or shared my page today...(I will continue to do this until my page is unlocked) as they really do deserve the credit for following and caring about my wee nursery :)

Fellow Business Pages:
Mini Moments by Jamielee
Animal Crackers Creations
D. R. S. Plant and Machinery Repairs and Servicing 
Little Treats of Tean
BeaMade


Personal Pages 
(these are friends of the nursery and/or friends of my personal page so I will not publish their personal page links):

Gemma Koksal
Flora Myring
Kerry Gordon
Carol Carlstad Mayer
Vicki Dykes
Wavistlorraine Lor Et Al

I have sooooooo missed you all!!

I must admit...I have missed being here on Blogger....

I know that I had moved my Blog over to my website but I miss this whole community of Blogger and the friends that I have made here.

So~~~~~~~I BACK!!

I am so eager to get back into the swing of things and I have so many new and great things to show you...but where to start! How to start without either draining myself or making things so muddled that you as the reader can't make heads or tails out of what I am trying to tell you, show you or share with you!!!

So...for this my first posting as being back on Blogger....

Please drop by my Facebook page to get your name entered into my draw to win your very own Magical Faerie Door Set gift prize. This prize was put together to thank all of my family and friends of the faerie nursery on Facebook that have gotten me to the fantastic milestone of 2000th fans! I know...what an amazing number!! I can hardly believe it myself!

www.facebook.com/FaerieNursery

Now, I know...what you are all thinking...sure in that massive number of 2000...they are not ALL family or friends. No indeed they are not. In fact I bet the number is closer to 200, if even for those that either follow me or....probably closer to only 20 that actually comment and participate on my page. But you know what....out of that 2000...I have made some new friends...friends that I actually talk to, friends that make a quick comment on one of my silly postings that make me say 'thanks for being here with me'. Those friends...well, they are family.

So please, why don't you become one of those friends of the nursery....you too can enter the draw even if you don't want to participate or play along with the faeries....but you know what...just maybe once you get there and get to know us...you just might want to stay for a bit...join us for a cup of tea with cookies, or maybe you are more of the adventurous type...the ones that like spontaneous pillow fights, sorry that was to be faerie dust fights! Oh yeah...trust me they happen...and we all go home trying desperately over the next couple of days...shampooing the daylights out of hair just so when you go outside in the sunlight, you don't blind anyone with your 'radiant hair'!!

Here are the photo from the gift prize....and yes, anyone can enter....shipping is free worldwide...but as always....there is the fine print...****Please note: Faerie Doors and associated products are meant as collector items ONLY. THEY ARE NOT TOYS. Please keep out of reach of small children, as the mall parts are a potential choking hazard.****...WOW, I'm glad I got that out of my system.

There are three questions that need to be answered. Hmmm well actually one action and two questions! But guess what? What you say? I have made it super easy. I wrote the answers down right above the Rafflecopter appellation form! I KNOW!! Silly ole me, but that's my way of saying...come on, you can enter too!

Just look at that Magical Mini Faerie Door and all of those fun miniatures for you to share with your Faerie!! So please, drop on by our Facebook page...become a friend of the nursery and enter your name into the draw.

I am just sooooo happy to be back with Blogger....please stay tuned for more exciting things to come!

Welcome and Introductions ~~ Facebook

2014 - Facebook

So I have always tried my best to welcome everyone personally to the nursery, I know that between trying to keep track between doing updates on the iPhone, iPad and the Mac and now finding out that the Facebook 'like' counter includes not only 'individuals' but that there is a drop down box that shows 'pages' that like you too! Now this particular option is not available on my iPhone or if it is my screen is just too tiny for me to even want to see that small arrow for a drop down box. So this is me, Faerie Amma, welcoming everyone that I have missed to my Faerie Nursery.

I don't ever try to sell anything to anyone here, even though all of my e-commerce sites tell me that that I am supposed to be using my Facebook business page as a selling tool. I am here to interact with you, to show you sparkly things, to tell you silly stories, to let you know what mischief my faeries have been getting up to, what I have bought now! All those kind of good types of things...not being pushy and saying buy this, buy this...sure....I know in the end....that I am a business...but I guess that I am just not that good at that part of the business end....oops! But by all means..if you are interested...all of my products are available through my website .... there...did I satisfy what I'm supposed to do...will they get off my back now!! Back to the fun stuff :)

I have a wonderful helper...her name here if Pixie Sapphire or you can call her Brenda..but she's not supposed to answer to that name on here! Are you Brenda...oops I mean Pixie Sapphire. Umm..okay, so I started getting a bit overwhelmed...I know, you mean me! No, never me...so I gave up just a little bit of control. Okay...everybody. Stop. It's okay. Just breath. Relax....Now close your eyes for just a few seconds...Did you see pretty sequins?...Were they pink? Were they orange? Oh no!....If you said they were green, go back, close your eyes again.... Okay, open them.... What colour were they this time...Pink? Orange? There we go, we are all on the same page again...That was close!! Okay..so Pixie Sapphire has full Admin rights to the Facebook business page and she helps me with a few postings now and then. Did you see the photo album just a couple of days ago...the one where I went shopping AGAIN! She did that! Yuppers....she did. Now all of her work, she will sign Pixie Sapphire. I don't want anyone to think that I have left the country, that I am doing my hair, or that I have been superglued to the table and hubby dearest is trying to figure away to get me undone! Okay..think we are all clear on this topic...okay..I know a few of you still have your eyes closed...OPEN them now.....silly silly silly.....

I have two wonderful Faeries that help me in the field so to speak....Faeries Georgina and Malinda (okay....oops...that kinda gave their names away as that is their real names but ummm oh well). These Faeries are my life line here....they are my Sparkle Tattoo sparkly glittery experts....plus they never stop smiling! Thanks ladies :)

Then there is the hubby...well, okay, he is well, he is everything. There really wouldn't be a faerie nursery if there wasn't the hubby. 'Nough said 'bout that as he knows that he is my everything but he also doesn't like to be in the centre of attention (note.....that is why I put him nearer the end of the introductions and the centre..huh huh huh...great thinkin'   I know!! I know!!).

And me, well I am Faerie Amma...and when I don't have my make-up on, well then, I am Emmanuelle, the artist/owner of the Enchanted Pathways Faerie Nursery. And this is my little faerie nursery getaway. I am surrounded by twinkling lights, hanging vines and flowers, crocheted hummingbirds, pretty pictures of faeries, tiny trinkets that I have collected throughout my whole lifetime, children's books I bought just for me, little rocks I have picked and stored away in pockets since I was little and tons of supplies to keep me busy for a lifetime. I owe who I am to my family and friends...but most of all, I just want to be like Peter Pan and to never grow-up so I can play with my children, Matthew & Brandi and my grandchildren Rebecca, Dominic and Stephen Jr.

Won't you come and play with us too?

Favourites...

Wow, I was just able to add two more companies to my Favourites tab!

As this tab is still pretty new and something that I am actually taking great pride in doing, I thought I should share a bit about it here, through a blog posting.

The original idea came from T&D Designs. They often welcome their Facebook followers to join along and that is how I found the idea. The intent is to hopefully drive like minded folks to their page and perhaps to find a new friend or two along the way.

So, my take on the idea is that if you are interested in joining, which no strings attached (and no promises of course) this is what I will do for you. I will review your site, a webpage, Facebook, E-commerce site and I will do a short write up about you or your product. I will include links to your home page and at least one other page if you participate in other social media sites. If you happen to offer something for sale, I will choose my personal favourite and tell you why I love it so. Once I have completed my write up, I will then post it on my company Facebook, mention the update on my website and will Tweet about it too.

These are the groups that have joined me on this adventure so far...

T&D Designs - jewelry and authentic native art

Canadian Art Beats - nature being transformed into art

Sirens Designs - best graphic designer EVER (a bit prejudice mind you as she did all of my work)

Jen's Tangled Threads - flip flops and scarves for every occassion

Jewelry by Teresa's Country Treasures - jewelry that is handmade with love

The Shabby Witch - bringing magic into your home

The Calamity Cat - crafting resin jewelry with a twist

Brandy Wilson Photographic Works - taking a simple wild flower and creating a masterpiece

Connie Kuusisto - putting the BUZZ in social media

Welcome to my blog page :)

Finding Feathers!

It is always nice to hear from faeries that have found loving homes. I would like you to meet Faerie Lucilleadelle...it seems she must have a new feathered friend from the looks of these photos.

Care Package From Afar

A new care package arrived today in the mail from my bestest on-line friend Sharon.

 It seems that when I make my petal faeries my favourite flower petals to use are the sheer iridescent ones. These petals just add that extra 'magical' look to each faerie. Now, don't get the wrong impression of me or anything but I have hung these pretty little flower petals off on another rack away from the rest of my flowers as they are special to me. The last few times I have had visitors over to the nursery though, they have ALL managed to find my hidden little stash and proceeded to use them when making their own faeries!! Now, there is really nothing wrong with this and I am glad that they feel the same way about them as I do. So.....I thought I had best check back in with Sharon to replenish my supply and sure enough she had posted more of them. I ordered 7 more sets of 6 flowers (there are 8 layers to each flower) so that will give me 336 more sparkly flower petals (to share??) plus Sharon threw in a few extra as well.

But as always, my box from Sharon didn't just have my order of flowers (did I say, I LOVE her care packages yet? If I didn't....I sure do LOVE her care packages).

I now have a whole family of wee little critters that surround my little tree that I have on my desk here. So every time I glance over to the right of my computer screen, they are all looking up at me with their eyes full of curiosity and smiles galore.

Also in the box came loose flowers, beads, pins for my hubby's collection, little note pads, white head beads, a book, fimo flowers, molds and a whole lot more. How lucky am I??

The loose flowers....I am keeping out to make a very special faerie. As soon as I was taking them apart I knew immediately what her name was going to be....Cotton Candy :)

On a side note though.....Faerie Sharon (named on behalf of Sharon) has been a bit of bother lately! It seems with all of theses holiday decorations that I have laying around while getting ready for my upcoming Christmas fairs has put her into a VERY mischievous state! As I have always kept her close by on the table (she tells me stories and whispers in my ear while I work) she has been busy knocking things over and then hiding little baubles and jingle bells in the strangest places. At first, I was blaming Lady Isabella my cat, but nope.....I had gone upstairs to get a refill of my warmed apple juice and there on the floor were two jingle bells and a little present wrapped in the shiny gold foil. Now what on earth she was going to do with them, I have no idea but because of this behaviour she has now been moved over to my faerie bookshelf to keep her out of trouble!! Not sure how long it will take her to figure out how to get down...but at least I will be able to work without finding little treasures missing from the table!

Heather's Visit to the Nursery

Well my winning contestant for Nutmeg the Halloween Faerie actually was able to come over this weekend and make Nutmeg a friend.

I would like you all to meet Glisten. This is the little story that Heather wrote up about her.

"Glisten is a crisp sparkly winter faerie. She dripped off the end of an icicle one sunny winter's day and has been enjoying her time in the garden ever since. Her favourite activities include skating on frozen bird baths, making 'snowfaeries' in the freshly fallen snow, and coming inside for a hot cup of apple cider afterwards. Her dress is made from endless layers of wintry petals, covered in sparkling gems".

And yes, for all of those who have not had a chance to visit the nursery....I hold all my Friends of Faeries captive!! Well only for a little awhile, I promise. Once a visitor has come over and spent the time to make themselves a faerie, I get to keep her here in the nursery for a bit. Since the first visit is always a gift from me, in return you must leave her with me to have her photo taken and posted on my website. As well, you must give her a name and write a short biography. It can be something simple to as to what you were feeling when you were making your faerie, about her dress or like Heather, a bit about your faeries' personality.

Glisten will now be gently packaged up and I will give Heather a call to let her know that she can come and pick her up to take home.

Visitors :)

I had visitors to the nursery this week and what fun was that (and they even wore the slippers I had bought for visitors...that was almost just as exciting).

So while here, they got to make their own petal faeries.

Long story....are you sitting comfortably....got a nice soft chair??

So we will start out with Thum. Thum started pulling down bags of flowers....she seemed to be quite partial to the peach and the turquoise ones...I thought....ooooohhhh I like where she is going with this. Then the next time I took a peek over to the other side of the table...all of a sudden the dark dark red flower bag was spread out across the table! Like what happened to the soft gentle faerie?? Next, she pulled down the black bag of petals!! Now wait a minute....how can one go from delicate to goth within minutes?? I was politely corrected...not dark or goth...Christmasy (okay, thinking that isn't even a word..but you all know what I meant so that's all that matters). Next came out the feathers, no not the wee little ones I use to make faerie wings but the great big like pterodactyl ones (okay, so I'm exaggerating...just trying to get my point across). Next came the hair-do. So lets just get the picture (before you get to actually see one). Petals were red, black, shimmer and I think she added in a couple of white ones. Large feathers, 4 to be exact, 2 big fluffy ones and 2 peacock kind of like. What would you think she thought of for hair?? Any guesses?? She ended up with BLUE. Did you happen to read that correctly? Did you read BLUE. Sparkly BLUE!! Go figure!!

Next we have Alyssa. Shy little Alyssa, I thought for sure I had this one nailed! While Thum had the turquoise flowers out, I seen Alyssa start to pull one or two out for her own faerie. Then she was reaching for the oranges and peaches. Nice, nice combination. Subdued...quiet like her. Then...no hold on....and I'm not repeating Thum's story here for you to read. All of a sudden Alyssa found a bag of the all the really weird flower petals...like the zebra striped ones and stuff. Ones that I had got in sets of flowers that I really really liked and didn't have a choice but to buy as well since they all came together. Well to say her eyes went bigger and bigger like saucers was an UNDERSTATEMENT.....all I heard was ooooohhhhh and ahhhhhhh! There we go again.....off on another completely different road than I thought she would take. So I just took in a deep breath and reminded myself...this is her faerie (did I secretly say to myself....boy, I sure am glad that this faerie will be going home with her... as can you imagine the ruckus she would cause in the nursery???). Next time I glanced over...Alyssa had not one set of petals on the go, but two sets. She decided one faerie for each of her moods. The quiet side and the not so quiet side of Alyssa.

And now to the pictures, faerie names and the stories they though of for each one :)

Thum's little faerie Miriam

Miriam is a feisty little late autumn faerie. One day when out on one of her adventures 

she had an encounter with a nasty garden gnome who nipped her wing off for his 

prized feather collection. Now you will be lucky to even catch a glimpse

of Miriam as she easily shies away when someone nears the garden. 

Alyssa's more wild side Roxy

Roxy is the life of the party at the nursery. With her loud stripes and bright colours, 

she likes to brighten every one's day. Her past time is sneaking out with her 

quiet sister Misha to paint the lilies with her wild stripes.

And of course, Alyssa's more quiet side Misha

Misha is the quiet and shy sister to Roxy. She loves to serenade the other faeries 

of the nursery with her violin but sometimes goes off to play a faint tune somewhere in the garden. 

She always seems to go along with Roxy's adventures but secretly she loves the excitement.