From Baby Girl Heaven to the Dragonfly Table: Why September 27 Means So Much to Me

There are some things you build because you have a business idea.

And then there are things you build because, somewhere along the way, people become part of your life.

For me, Baby Girl Heaven was always the second kind.

Many of you who have followed me for years first knew this little corner of the world by that name.

Baby Girl Heaven grew during a season when my granddaughters were little. I was surrounded by children's clothing, tiny shoes, bows, beautiful outfits, young mothers, grandmothers, families, and all of those wonderful conversations that happen when people are sharing a season of life together.

Yes, I sold clothing.

But it became much more than that.

It became a community.

People came back. We talked. We shared photographs. We celebrated children growing up. We talked about family, life, struggles, joys, and all the little things that somehow become important when people have known one another for a long time.

And then life changed.

My granddaughters grew.

I changed.

My creative life changed.

And eventually, Baby Girl Heaven became Mystic Dragonfly Creations.

At first glance, those two worlds might seem completely different.

Children's clothing became paintings.

Bows and dresses gave way to stones, fossils, natural discoveries, journals, and books.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it appeared a little flame-tailed fox named Ignivar.

But when I really think about it, the heart of what I was doing never changed very much.

I have always loved beautiful things.

I have always loved stories.

I have always been curious about the lives behind the people I meet.

And I have always believed that something special happens when people are given the chance to simply sit together and talk.

The name changed. The thread did not.

That is exactly why our September 27 Afternoon Tea means so much to me.

This Is More Than a Book Signing

When I first started talking about this event, I realized very quickly that calling it a "book signing" doesn't quite describe what I have in mind.

Of course, The Dragonfly Journals will be there.

I'll be signing books.

You'll be able to see artwork and natural discoveries from Mystic Dragonfly Creations.

But I don't want you to walk through a door, buy something, have me sign it, and leave five minutes later.

That isn't the afternoon I am imagining.

I want us to sit down together.

There will be afternoon tea and handcrafted finger foods.

There will be art.

There will be stones, fossils, and some of the natural discoveries that helped inspire the Dragonfly Archive.

There will be stories.

There will be questions.

There will probably be laughter.

And there will be time.

Actual time to talk.

That part matters to me.

Herb & Smudge Apothecary

I am also very grateful that Herb & Smudge Apothecary is cohosting this afternoon with Mystic Dragonfly Creations.

It feels like the right kind of place for this gathering because the afternoon isn't meant to feel stiff or formal.

It is meant to feel warm.

Curious.

Creative.

A little unusual.

And very human.

The kind of place where someone can ask me how one forgotten stone eventually became part of a book.

Or how a painting became a character.

Or why I started calling this growing collection of objects, art, photographs, observations, stories, and discoveries the Dragonfly Archive.

Or maybe we won't talk about any of that at all.

Maybe we'll talk about art.

Or grandchildren.

Or books.

Or something strange someone found in their backyard.

Those are usually my favorite conversations anyway.

And There Will Be Music

Stephen will also be joining us with live acoustic guitar music throughout the afternoon.

For this gathering, he is affectionately billed as “The Steampunk Guitar Master.”

I think his music is going to add something really special to the atmosphere.

I can already picture it.

Tea being poured.

Little plates of food being passed around.

People looking through books and artwork.

A guitar playing in the background.

Someone asking me a question about Ignivar.

Someone else showing me a photograph of a rock they found.

And people who may never have met before ending up in conversation.

That is the afternoon I want.

Where The Dragonfly Journals Fit Into All of This

The books are important to me because they grew out of something real.

Ignivar's Heartstone began with an actual forgotten stone and the questions that came with it.

Then the world expanded.

Ignivar grew from original artwork into a fictional character.

The stones became subjects of observation, questions, research, art, and eventually story.

The things I was finding, photographing, testing, painting, writing about, and wondering about began connecting.

Eventually those connections became The Dragonfly Journals.

And the Dragonfly Archive began taking shape around them.

The real objects remain real records. Ignivar and the mythology belong to the fictional world of the books.

The object comes first. The story grows from what is actually there.

The books live somewhere between nature, observation, art, memory, geology, imagination, and that question I seem to ask about almost everything:

What is this?

That question has taken me to some very interesting places.

And September 27 is my chance to share some of that world with you in person.

To Everyone Who Remembered Baby Girl Heaven

There is another reason this afternoon means so much to me.

Some of you have been here a very long time.

You remember Baby Girl Heaven.

You remember when this Page looked completely different.

You may have bought children's clothing from me years ago.

You may have watched my grandchildren grow through photographs.

You may have followed quietly while the Page changed from children's clothing to art, and then stones appeared, and then somehow there was a fox, and suddenly I was writing books.

I know that has probably been quite a transition to watch.

But I hope September 27 gives some of you the chance to see the thread connecting all of it.

Because the thread was never really clothing.

And it isn't really rocks.

And it isn't even books.

It is connection.

It is curiosity.

It is beauty.

It is creating something and then sharing it with another person.

Baby Girl Heaven gave me a community.

Mystic Dragonfly Creations gave me a new way to create within that community.

And The Dragonfly Journals gave me a way to put some of the stories into words.

Come Spend the Afternoon With Us

So if you have been wondering what this September gathering is actually going to be like, this is probably the best way I can explain it:

Come have tea with us.

Come eat something delicious.

Come listen to Stephen play guitar.

Come look at the artwork.

Come ask questions about the stones and discoveries.

Come meet Ignivar through the pages of The Dragonfly Journals.

Bring your questions.

Bring your stories.

Bring your curiosity.

And if you have been part of this community since the Baby Girl Heaven days, I especially hope you'll come.

I'd love the opportunity to sit across a table from some of the people who have watched this strange and wonderful journey unfold.

September 27, 2026

An Afternoon Tea with Mystic Dragonfly Creations

Cohosted with Herb & Smudge Apothecary

Featuring afternoon tea, handcrafted finger foods, signed copies of The Dragonfly Journals, original artwork, natural discoveries from the Dragonfly Archive, conversation, community, and live acoustic guitar music from Stephen Mitchell — The Steampunk Guitar Master.

This isn't meant to be an afternoon where you simply stop by.

I hope you'll stay awhile.

I think we're going to have a wonderful time together.

— April Louann Mitchell
Artist, author, and founder of Mystic Dragonfly Creations

Planning to Join Us?

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Keep Exploring the Dragonfly Archive

Read how Baby Girl Heaven grew into Mystic Dragonfly Creations →
Explore The Dragonfly Journals →
Explore the Dragonfly Archive →
Read more Archive stories →
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