Honor By August new song:"Found"
My dear and long time friend Bobby has music running throughout his family, he has played the drums for the past 25 years, teaching it students of all ages, including an amazing 7 year old who can rock Kiss as if he were Peter Criss, and he is only 7 years old.

Now Bobby's cousin, Michael Pearsall has an amazing band called: Honor By August who opens for leading bands including Bon Jovi. After seeing him play numerous times, I can attest his band is top notch, and have enjoyed each performance. Not only is he a talented lead singer with amazing vocals, he also plays the guitar.

Today at our house party Bobby showed us, Michael's video called: Found on You Tube and it is BEYOND AMAZING. The song Found is actually about going from one place, rising to the next, about finding yourself and being at the place you have always wanted to be. I can relate to this video, because I have been doing what I do for a very long time, over coming the obstactles and never letting anyone stop me, finally finding this place which makes me come alive, finding out who I really am. This journey has come about through believing in my dreams, turning them into reality, creating a magical energy filled with positivity and good natured things.

This song and video is so magical, I watched and felt like Alice looking the Glass into a storybook world, had some tones of Narnia Tales, Pandora's Box, and a masquerade, with a bit of gothic. I truly enjoyed it and thought I'd share, now back to the party!

Have a magical night!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat, How I Wonder Where You're At!I am a total Alice in Wonderland Lover, its most definately my favorite Children's book, from the unusual characters and story plot to the poems and the various illustrations from a plethora of artists.

I love the setting of the Mad Tea Party, and the magical setting, the tea cups and treats, the Queen of Hearts, Tweedle Dum, Tweedle Dee, Humpty Dumpty's role and the Flamingo's, I love it all. My Aunt Noel actually gave this book to my mom for me just before I was born, she said I would love it when I could understand it, she was so right. I have created some versions of this Lewis Carroll Classic, through illustrations, digitally, zine form and novel form. The pictures in this post are two of my favorite digital images I made for the digital version which I used to have available as a zine before I converted to the new format with Lulu, and might reprint in its new style when I get back from California. Here is what the old Wonderland Chronicles Zine cover looked like
Here's my story:
The Wonderland Chronicles, Wonderland City by Lisa Kettell!

Welcome to Wonderland City, This is the place you never saw or heard about in Lewis Carroll's Story: Alice In Wonderland.

On a recent discovery of an old chest, I found hidden chronicles which have started to un-covered the real story of Wonderland, a secret world filled with magic and loads of secrets!

Pictured here is a photo from The Wonderland Chronicles of The Real Queen Of Hearts, just outside her Croquet Field, in her private garden where she holds meetings over tea and scones.

And The Winner's Are....

Hello All,
I threw all the names in the hat and Glenny picked them out, they are as follows:

1. A Scrapbook of Inspiration-Karen....is the winner of the dollie wand
2. Maygreen Fairies-Amanda.....is the winner of the custom charlotte doll
3. Glittery Daze and Nights-Valarie.......is the winner of the doll parts package

And.......for all of you.....Here is the Seaside Collage Sheet for your artworks, I hope you enjoy it. Just click on the image and then download, by right clicking and saving to your computer!

For those new to the blog, if you scroll back to March, there is a carnival soiree collage sheet. Also stop by my flickr site for close to 300 freebie images, also in order to download the images on my flickr site, you need to request me as a friend, then you will be able to download the highest resolutions available for each collage image!

Have a magical night!
Lisa!

P.S. Winners, please contact me with your mailing information at lisakettell@yahoo.com

P.P.S. Please allow 3 weeks for delivery of your prizes, as each one has to be specially made and I will be in California for a week teaching classes, book signing and meeting all of you Cali Natives...

Going to Wildwest City, The City Running Wild!
After visiting the many tea parties in Mermaid Land on saturday, I had to run and stroll through the huge Rummage Sale hosted by Barks(a dog/animal group, with proceeds going to help our little furry friends), which was held at Wildwest City in Stanhope, NJ, about 15 minutes from my house.Now if you aren't a rummager or have no patience to look, then these things aren't for you, quick glances do not cut it, you have to actually dig in and look, like a treasure hunter looking for gold. Now I must say I found the most amazing library card unit for $40, however I had no room for it, until I finish my studio, so I had to walk away from it, trust me, it wasn't easy, LOL!
Now before I share with you my finds, Wildwest City used to be one of NJ's prized amusement theme parks resembling well, The Wild West, http://www.wildwestcity.com/ complete with a ghost town, crickety shoppes and train, like Frontier Land at Disney, it was so cool, at least I thought so. I had always loved the stories of the Wild West, as a child my gramps and I would watch the Old Western Movies, we still do today every so often, so of course I was going to like it there. So when I heard of the rummage sale, I had to go, A. To support Barks B. For the treasures C. To See Wild West City Again!Well it was packed and filled with tables, tents and stations filled with goodies. I went into the one tent which had the higher priced stuff(like $1.00 and up, LOL)and I found a 1920's Staffishire Mother Goose Storybook Cocoa Mug, which matches the Mother Goose Figurine I bought in Omaha, I spent $3.00 on my Mug, Then I found to Vera the Mouse (Hallmark) Tins for 25 cents each, along with a Dutch Charlotte Style Doll Bell for $1.00, that's $4.50, then outside I headed for the tables, where you fill a box and they quote you a price on the way out. Here I am at the Holiday section of the sale!Glenny took the photo, by now he was probably bored, LOL!

Here I found a huge box and started to fill it up with vintage Halloween and holiday picks, vintage plastic deer, bunnies and animals, glittered deers, velvet/suede deers which are perfect for glittering, shine brite bulbs, woolworth satin bulbs, bouillon wrapped bulbs, vintage beaded ornaments, millinery flowers, plastic millinery flowers, 1950's bunny characters, Kitchy stuff, tinsel, and ornaments.
Here is the cute Candy Shoppe Store (not-opened off course) at Wild West City, which I snapped a picture off before heading over to the ceramic and kitchy kitchen stuff. Here I found a porcelain Marie Antoinette Style/Illustrated Candy container with ornate lid, Marie Antoinette tea tin,two illustrated tea plates, kitchy raggedy ann small wood block, a cermaic circus harlequin doll, small circus ornaments, 1950s cupcake accessories, a beige tackle box, and rootbeer glass pump bottle, rhinestone jewelry pieces and postcards in bag.

Here are some pictures of those beaded ornaments:I used to make beaded ornaments as a kid with the kits they used to have available....After leaving the cermaics area, I worked my way to the books finding another vintage Marie Antoinette book, its 500 pages,illustrated and devoted entirely to her from the 1920's, along with several vintage craft and paper books, music sheets, a 1950s Religious Illustrated Easter book and a children's book from the 1930s.

Want to guess how much I paid?.......................................for the books, the tackle box and the giant box of stuff?.............$12.00, yep $12.00 dollars plus my $4.50 at the tent...You could say I left extremely happy. Glenny rewarded me with my finds over luch at Belle's Mansion, they have a great bar pie and friendly/amazing staff.

Well I'm excited, hope you are too! FYI, my stuff is still half way boxed, I have to get this studio done asap so I know where everything is, LOL!

Mermaid Tea Party, Giveaway and Fun!Post Six, Final Post of Party!
I hope you are all having fun at the party, so many fabulous sites to visit (located on the right hand side of the blog.
First I want to show you the giveways, the first is a wand from my new line of Dollie Wands, your wand will be similar to this one shown here: Taffy's Delight!The next is a Custom Charlotte Doll, here are some examples: and a package of my custom cupcake chic doll heads
I will also be sharing with you a seaside/mermaids collage sheet for each of you to use in your works.
The Giveaways in Order:
1.Dollie Wand
2.Custom Charlotte Doll
3.Package of Doll Heads
4.Free Digital Collage Sheet for all

Sign up here during your mermaid adventure, deadline to enter is April 21, 2009
at 8pm.
P.s. All past giveaways form Carnival Soiree are either mailed or in the mail now. All current swaps are en-route and everything will be received before I leave for California.
P.P.S These items in this giveaway will be mailed the in 3weeks, when I get back from California, as I need to customize the doll.

Magic, Mermaid and Joy!
XO!
Lisa!

Seahorse Gardens, My Final Destination!Post Five
Wow, the gardens are located on the other side of Neptune's Gate, I didn't realize just how big it was here. You have to walk down Coral Arcade and through Crystal Towers, to the veranda which leads to steps down the rocky terrain to Seahorse Gardens and Water Park. At last I see the curtain, to my tent, this is where I will be all day!Everywhere you look are Mermaid Tea Party Signs and invites turned into programs.People, Pixies and Mermaids are partying all over the place by the sea, the tea party ponds, under the canopies and frilly umbrella's. So many familiar faces, all waving hi!Inside the tent I found Abigail and Tracie Killian, my two friends from Coral Reef Island, They swam in yesterday to beat the party traffic. Aren't they too cute.Abigail added some magic pops to our tea, for some extra magic, its amazing, I choose a pot of Cherry Almond Tea from Hollow Moon Tea Emporium, Abigail choose the Cherry Cheesecake Tea and Tracie choose Indian Mocha Chai, all yummy flavors.Here are our party favors, silver shell containers filled with edible tea candy shaped like a tea set!Plus as an added bonus I donated Dollie Wands to all the guests at Seahorse Gardens, everyone was excited. Don't worry, I saved one for you, visit my last and final post of the party and for the giveaways and info! See ya in a few!
Xo!
Lisa!

"The Guests of Pinkerbee's" Post Four
Cupcakes Anyone? These scrumptious delights are located all over Pinkerbee's in tantalizing flavors: Cherry Vanilla(I had one already), Black Forest Cake, Lemon Lavender, White Chocolate Rose and Creamy Red Velvet. Here is a picture of my new friends Violet and Sugar, they are the sweetest, this is actually their promo photo card, located on all the tables inside the pavillion, on the back is a recipe for one of their cupcakes, which I will share with you in a bit.I just adore Violet she is filled with so much sweetness and genuine magic, you will love her too!I finally decided to stay here for an hour and have tea and treats with Violet and Sugar, we were having just so much fun, I called my other friends and informed them I'll meet them for the next course over at Seahorse Gardens!Just at the end of the hour Sugar was called away for a photo shoot, I forgot to mention she was named Tea Party Queen 2 years in a row, Lauten and Puck are the photographers doing the shoot. This will land Sugar on the cover of The Mermaid Times and Seaside Tea. Enjoy this sneak peak at the shoot, held outside the Pavillion in Pageant Alley!Before I leave for Seahorse Gardens, I wanted to share the recipe on the back of the card!

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe w/Pink Buttercream Frosting!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (see Note)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Note: To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm 5–10 minutes.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1.Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.

2.In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

3.In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

4. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30–40 minutes.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
-Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.)

-Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

*Note:
If you are icing a 3-layer cake, use the following recipe proportions:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Note: Recipe from The Magnolia Cookbook!

Pinkerbee's Pavillion, Pixie's and Decor!Post Three
Look at this curtain, so colorful and mysterious, I can't wait to see what's behind it....Oh my, its a Seaside Pixie Land, this must be where the Tea Parties Pixie Theme is, Now I don't know should I sit in here for the party or over in Seahorse Gardens...In the meantime let me take some pictures, then I'll decide. I mean who could resist these teacups and tableware.These are the finest pixie china in the land, donated by Pixie Lixie Inc., They are just soooo sweet!Meet Lionel Pixalle, he is actually the head organizer for Pinkerbee's Pavillion, here he is organizing the placement of the cups and saucers.Here is my view from Pinkerbee's Pavillion, the Crimson Lillies, sooo pretty, I had to get a picture.

"So Many Sugary Treats To Taste" Post Two!
Serrina's Seaside Treats is at the Party near the balcony seating, I have to go over and see her famous sugar stars, I might buy some to bring home to those who couldn't make it to the party!
Serrina's Sugar Cookie Recipe!
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Now in a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

2. Next in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Now slowly mix in the dry ingredients.

3. Roll mixture into rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

4.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

This is Serrina's Sugar Cookie Recipe, have fun shaping into seaside shapes, letters, stars or regular circle style. OOOH I see some friends, I'm off to Pinkerbee's Pavillion, I can see the gorgeous pavillion curtains from here!

"Did Someone Say a Tea Party By The Sea?" Post One!
WHO would be
"A mermaid fair, Singing alone,Combing her hair, Under the sea,In a golden curl
With a comb of pearl, On a throne?I would be a mermaid fair;I would sing to myself the whole of the day;
With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;And still as I comb’d I would sing and say,
“Who is it loves me? who loves not me?”I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall,Low adown, low adown,From under my starry sea-bud crown,Low adown and around,
And I should look like a fountain of gold, Springing alone,With a shrill inner sound,
Over the throne, In the midst of the hall;Till that great sea-snake under the sea
From his coiled sleeps in the central deeps, Would slowly trail himself sevenfold
Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate,With his large calm eyes for the love of me. And all the mermen under the sea,Would feel their immortality
Die in their hearts for the love of me.""But at night I would wander away, away,I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks,And lightly vault from the throne and play, With the mermen in and out of the rocks;We would run to and fro, and hide and seek,On the broad sea-wolds in the crimson shells,Whose silvery spikes are nighest the sea. But if any came near I would call, and shriek, And adown the steep like a wave I would leap, From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells; For I would not be kiss’d by all who would list, Of the bold merry mermen under the sea;They would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me, In the purple twilights under the sea; But the king of them all would carry me, Woo me, and win me, and marry me,In the branching jaspers under the sea;
Then all the dry pied things that be, In the hueless mosses under the sea
Would curl round my silver feet silently, All looking up for the love of me.
And if I should carol aloud, from aloft, All things that are forked, and horned, and soft, Would lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea, All looking down for the love of me."-The Mermaid, Afred Lord Tennyson, 1830.Now that you have reached Neptune's Gate, it is time to show the guards your inviteNow you can enter through the gate to a world of magic,mermaids and sweet tea. Are you ready yet? I am! "Hello Sir, here is my invite, may I enter through the gate, I have traveled through sea, land and now to the great Coral Reef down to Mermaid's Wharf?" "Yes, you may!" replied the guard, now I am in, exploring around this fabulous place!I couldn't help to collect some shells along the way, afterall they were too pretty to just leave, can you pick some shell favorites?, I can!Okay, I must say, I'm a bit hungry and had to pick up a cupcake to snack upon:There is a nice seat by the seaside balcony, I think I will go and eat my Cherry Vanilla Cupcake and wait for some of my friends to arrive!