Did I mention...

Did I mention I won a little design competition? I did!

Here's the logo...

The Gates At Presqu'ile will be an arts centre for our wee town of Brighton. The building is located at 240 Presquile Parkway, just outside the gates of our beautiful provincial park, where an old mini-putt golf course was once located. 

I know it sounds a bit hokey, but it really is thrilling to be involved in a growing arts community like the one here. I couldn't have landed in a better spot if I tried :) 

Hey, I even got a nice little mention in the local paper for my win... but I will save you the horror of seeing my goofy double chinned photo :P


It's a PA day today and Big D has his friend over. They're skating on our homemade rink behind the chicken coop at the moment but we have big plans to make a miniature cardboard hockey rink this afternoon.Until then I'll savour the peace and quiet while they're outside.

A cold & more specimens

My husband shared his germs with me and they've done me in. I'm a sad sort of wreck at the moment, all sniffly, achey, and feeling generally out of sorts and all kinds of Blah!

Despite being sick I've finished up a rather large batch of faerie specimens under glass. I've got the first lot up on esty and will post more over the next week or so.

 

I think my favourite part of making these is coming up with the different stories for the specimen labels. This set includes the following:

No. 008.12 - Discovered one Tuesday in my sewing box. (Must secure the lid from now on!)

No. 016.12 - Noticed growing at the very back of the top desk drawer in the upstairs library.

No. 014.12 - Unearthed beneath a pile of odd socks sitting next to the washing machine.

It's a nice little exercise in creative thinking coming up with the one line stories. I highly recommend it :)

I'm off to vegetate on the couch and think about all the things I should be doing. I think watching an old movie and napping will probably do me better than housework this afternoon. I'll leave you with a lovely photo of the our lovely crooked house taken this past weekend when the world was fluffy and white. 

*dreamy sigh*

A no snow, snow day

I mentioned the wacky weather yesterday. Today we have a snow day with no snow.  There are no school buses running anywhere near us today. Here's why...

Doesn't look too bad. Until you take a closer look...

 

Everything is covered in ice. And I do mean every, single, thing. Every little blade of grass.

That may not look like too much to worry about until you realize that means every road is covered in a fine layer of slippery wet ice too. Add to that mix the crazy hilly nature of the land, a few insane drivers and you've got a disaster waiting to happen. Thank the heavens for the transportation gods who decided our kids were safer at home today.

Heck, even the dog was sliding about as he was trying to preform his morning 'ritual'. lol

Maybe, just maybe, I can convince D to join me in a bit of painting today... though I won't hold my breath.

A friend for Mouse, crazy weather, and they grow up so fast don't they

A sort of mishmashed post today.

I think I could easily become addicted to needle felting. I've made a little friend for Mouse.

I think I might try a white hare next.

The weather here has been terribly strange. Warm, rainy, frigid, freezing, snow, all within the span of a week. Last weekend there was plenty of white stuff on the ground and D and I took the shovels out and spent a few hours clearing a rather large skating area.

Today I look out and see that once again there is very little snow on the ground. I'm dreading the next dump of snow and having to shovel off that ice again... though D loves it and it's good healthy fun.

Lastly our dear Padfoot is growing big and strong and happy. He's a big dope but we love him. If we can just get him to not pee when he gets excited (ie. every single time someone walks in the door).

A fresh batch

I know things have been quiet around here lately but I assure you that only a tiny little bit of my time has been spent watching terribly romantic movies and pining for a Mr. Darcy. Truth be told I'm much more of a

Col. Brandon gal... or even Vicomte de Valmont (which I know is awful but John Malcovich's swagger in Dangerous Liaisons makes my knees a bit wobbly). But back on track eh?

I have been making things but it's been one of those periods where I have 16 things on the go and nothing is quite ready to show off. I have managed to finish up a batch of new thimble gardens and I dare say that they improve with each round. Here's the latest.... they sort of make me wish for spring.

These'll be posted slowly over the next week or so in the etsy shop if you're interested.

I've also managed to clean up my upstairs studio which is where I usually work in the wee hours of the night. It was pretty damned disgraceful but I've managed to tidy up and am happy to report that the floor is now mostly visible.

I do have a few ideas thunking around in my noggin', itching to get out, as well as several large blank canvas' that mock me every time I walk past. Funny how even with all the time in the world there isn't enough time ;)

A needle felted mouse

Today was grand. Coffee and chit chat with a fellow adult, interrupted only by my dim doggy piddling, puking and being a general nuisance (but I love him despite of his mentality and neediness). I don't normally miss socializing, I rather like my isolation actually, but today was lovely and made me realize that perhaps I like good company a little more than I realize.

Anywho, after my visit I finished up this fellow...

He's around 2.5" tall and made from a batch of poopy free wool I cleaned and brushed in the summer. I tea dyed the wool, used seed beads for eyes and those little whiskers are bristles of fur.

I think I'll be including this fellow in a large moon shrine that keeps turning over in my wee brain. Until then he's sitting on my shelf looking rather innocent (which you know means he's up to something naughty).

A Night Garden

And another drawer shrine is complete. This fellow really is my favourite moon face. He's just perfect with his wobbles :) He's looking over a faerie night garden of real dried flowers *sigh*.

A better look inside...

Now available in the etsy shop.

And another happy moon...

My husband is pretty great. He knows that I'd much prefer junk to flowers and brings home some pretty fab treats for my making. A while ago he brought home a set of ikea drawers similar to those pictured below and asked if there was something I could do with them... ummm YEAH!

And so I've been busy making happy moon shrines from those drawers and have finally completed one...

It's actually quite a bit bigger than the ones I've been working on. It's just over 5" x 7" x 3" which is the smallest drawer size in the set I have. A couple of others will go towards other happy moon shrines and the left overs will become other things entirely... probably. Though there is one that is really rather large that would make a fabulous fairy city. Hmmm.

Anywho, this shine is now available on etsy here

xoxox

Happy 2012!

It's been sort of quiet around here. I took an unexpected break for a couple of weeks thanks to a few germs that showed up unannounced. Little buggers.

Though I'm not big on celebrating New Year, or making resolutions, I am excited about 2012. I've got loads of ideas floating around in my noggin' and I hope I can push myself and create a boatload of stuff. I have a bazillion canvas' hanging around and I'm looking forward to jumping into some painting soon (when I can settle on what exactly it is I'd like to paint)

So far I've made a slew of little houses which are still unfinished but will eventually make their way into some larger box/shrines along with a few new smiling moons...

That fellow on the bottom right is slightly squished but I rather like him like that. While waiting for all of these little bits dry I did manage to put a few leftovers from last year into a little vintage spice rack drawer for 2012's first completed project!

You're probably pretty tired of these glittery nights and faerie villages but they do make me incredibly happy to make :)

Yuletide Blessings!

I've been a busy elf, trying to get everything ready for the big days ahead. I'm not nearly done everything I'd like to do, but I'm not too worried about it. No matter how much I do (or don't) the holidays are coming.

We celebrate both Yule and Christmas in our house. It's rather nice. Yule is marked with a lovely feast and is fabulous in it's giftlessness. We'll drink and eat until we're merry as can be, feed the birds and leave some treats for the faerie folk, then head back inside to nosh on the Yule Log.

We see the Yule Log as a symbol of luck and prosperity... plus it looks jolly lovely and festive. In the book I swiped my cake recipe from, there were ridiculously complicated instructions for making a log cake. Pffft! Here's how to make one easy peasy...

First of all, there's nothing wrong with buying a store bought jelly roll to make your log, but if you are making one from scratch, roll the warm cake in a towel and let it cool. This will help prevent cracking when you roll it up.

Looky at how nice and rolly that cake is!

Now fill your cake with cream, icing or jam.

Now, make a diagonal cut at one end of the roll.

Plonk that bit you just chopped off where you'd like your 'limb' to poke out.

Now cover it in chocolate icing. Some people ice the ends but it's supposed to be a chopped log and I like the look of the 'rings' so I don't bother.

When it's covered, drag the tines of a fork across the surface.

Hey look! It's just like bark!

Add some powdered sugar for snow, meringue mushrooms, berries, shaved chocolate and decorate the heck out of that log!

How easy was that?!?!

Take it easy, breath, and enjoy the holidays... no matter which ones you celebrate :)

xoxox

Great Big Beautiful Babes, Catridges, Trees and Father Christmas

I'm buying mostly handmade this year. I was shopping on etsy this afternoon and found the perfect hand printed tee for someone. Hmmm, which size to select? She's sort of small... what the hell? X-lrg is size 8? When did this happen?

PEOPLE OF EARTH! THIS IS INSANE!

If the average size woman in North America is size 12-14, who in their right mind decided that size 8 should be called extra large?

If  I ever become rich and famous I'm going to do three things...
1. Buy A LOT of candy and chocolate.
2. Open a chain of crafty/arty shops with Phizzychick and call it PhizzyKnickers
3. Start a clothing line that goes from size "Needs to eat more pie" all the way up to "Great Big Gorgeous Babe"

Grrrrrr.

-----> Insert nice story here to calm ruffled feathers....

Last night I'm tucking D into bed and he says "Mum, what's a cartridge?" so I tell him. Then he says "But how do you use them with trees?" And I say I have no idea what he's talking about. So he proceeds to sing and ends up with "... a cartridge in a pear tree."

-----> Insert two freebie photo's for Father Christmas making, because I love you to bits.

The first Christmas figure I was aware of as a child was Father Christmas. He's a little different from the iconic American Santa Claus. Father Christmas appeared thinner, with a long, rather than bushy beard, usually wearing a full length robe of red or green. The fake ones you could see in shops were almost always terrible and sort of frightening because they were so phony. I'm sure the REAL Father Christmas would have given them a lump of coal for looking so frightful.

ANYWAY, here are two photos from my collection that you can use to make a Father Christmas from (or other crafty bits if you please). You know the rules. Don't sell 'em, don't post as your own, or I'll turn you into a plum pudding.

P.S. Since I'm on a ranty roll I just wanted to add that Paypal is a pain in the bum. No matter what currency I deal in... Canadian or American... I get royally buggered on the conversion. If sell in Canadian I get screwed when I buy in American. If I sell in American the get me when they convert the money deposited in my account. Bastards.