A Faerie Bed

It is a well known fact that our house is infested with faeries. We're quite lucky that they are (mostly) of the nice variety and that we get along swimmingly. It is inadvisable to spoil faeries, they find it insulting and overbearing, I do believe that an occasional treat is acceptable. 

And so, today I'm sharing this little bed I created for my resident faeries... because even the fair folk get sleepy.

The base of the bed is made from fallen twigs found in our yard. A small mattress was created with some quilting batting and a small square of cotton fabric. The beautiful covers on the bed are laces from Tresors de Luxe, including Lace Trim Venice Floral and Gold Venice Lace Applique.

For the tiny pillow, I have taken two segments from this White Venice Lace Trim, filled with the tiniest bit of cotton batting, and sealed the edges.

  
The posts of the little bed are decorated with deconstructed Rustic Shabby Chic Flower Embellishments and White Acrylic Flower Sprays.

If you have sleepy faeries and would like to construct your own bed, here are the supplies I used to create this piece:
Lace Trim Venice Floral
Gold Venice Lace Applique
White Acrylic Flower Spray
Rustic Shabby Chic Flower Embellishments
twigs
cotton fabric
quilt batting

Garden faeries and something to scribble in

Last year I started taking photos of the faeries in my garden. The photos are inspired by the Cottingley fairies, and in that spirit involve very little funny business. The photos are shot just as they appear, with only minor photoshopping and colour editing.

The bee in this particular photo was so very cooperative! He just sort of hung out while I did my thing :)

This fellow regaled me with tales of his strength. He told me he can lift a twig three times his size! Hubba, hubba.

Finally, this pretty girl was twirling in this cluster of mushrooms near the old maple tree. I think she was waiting for a parcel to be delivered to fairy mail box.

And for the something to scribble in...

Ta da! I made a book: Pixie Hill Planner for Scribblers and the Utterly Disorganized. 

If you follow the link you can preview the entire book. There are no holidays or events marked, just basic monthly calendars. There are pictures of my garden faeries inside, but the pages aren't coated or fancy so you should feel no guilt whatsoever about doodling and drawing in it.

P.S. I realize that Blurb shipping prices to non-US addresses is ridiculously high. I am sorry about that and I wish there was some way to curb them. (Seriously, because I get dinged by them too!)

Little Altered Art Frames with Graphic 45

It never fails. As soon as I see a cool altered object project, the object in question becomes impossible to find.


 
While looking for something entirely different the other week, I saw bag of small frames at a very reasonable price. I snagged them and set to work creating a pretty little set of altered art. 

With a little love, Come Away with Me, and Shabby Chic Staples, I've turned those sad little frames into tiny treasures. And you can too!  I've created this snapguide to show you how :) 

Check out How to Make Shabby Chic Altered Art Frames by Nichola Battilana on Snapguide.

How fun would they be as party favours, small thank-you gifts, or abandoned as random acts of kindness for strangers to find? Come on... I know you can do this!

My supply list:

Come Away with Me
Come Away With Me
Wanderlust
GlobetrotterTravel Odyssey
Vintage VoyageLook Out World
Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Brads
Shabby Chic Ornate Metal KeysShabby Chic Ornate Metal Key Holes
Thrift shop frames
3/8 Inch Looped Ivory Lace7/8 Inch Fancy Fan Ivory Lace
Tintypes Collage Sheet
Wire
Acrylic paints
Adhesives

P.S. You can hop over the Graphic 45 blog for even more pictures AND take a gander at a super fun project by the amazing, talented and all around lovely Rhea Freitag :)

Shabby Christmas Tree with Tresors de Luxe

There's less than 85 days until Christmas! As a crafter this means panic mode is already setting in and I'm thinking of holiday treats, gifts and decorations so that I'm not caught behind like last year (Who am I kidding? I'll always be behind!)

I created this lacy tree just as the panic started to set in. I'm sort of in love with this one and think I'll keep it for myself but I do plan on creating a whole forest for gifts.

I've painted a sturdy paper mache cone white then wrapped all sorts of Tresors de Luxe laces around it. Different weights, widths and even some variation in the brightness of the whites of the laces all lend themselves to creating a lovely, interesting texture.

My tree is topped with a Rusty Star and embellished with rusty little snowflakes and a bit of Star Tinsel. The whole thing sits atop a skinny log to give the look of a tree trunk.

 

This cone measures 14" tall and I've used about 12 different types of lace to cover it. Some of the lace, particularly near the top, were small scrap ends. Buy a variety of Tresors de Luxe laces that appeal to you and combine them to create something beautiful :)

Poe Brooch

I couldn't help myself and created another Poe project. Edgar wasn't going to be in this project at all... but sometimes my projects have a mind of their own and take off in their own direction.

The base of this brooch has been sitting around for over a year. I applied a metal butterfly from Graphic 45's staples to a Spellbinders® Media Mixáge Shields bezel (holy mouthful batman!) and the poor thing sat for an eternity. The other night, while waiting for the paint to dry on another project, I started fiddling and fussing with it again.

Inside the bezel are snippets from Graphic 45's Times Nouveau - Deluxe Collector's Edition. The portrait is from this Edgar Allan Poe Collage Sheet. The little locket at the bottom of this piece has what is believed to be the only photograph of Poe's wife, Virginia, and an anatomical illustration of a heart.

My original intention was to make something quite girly and pretty but it wasn't working. I've found it's much easier go along for the ride, to see where my work takes me, rather than fighting and forcing against it. More often than not the destination is quite nice... even if it does take a while to get there :)

A fairy tea party

I've been making an effort to make things for the enjoyment of it, rather than necessity. What could possibly be more enjoyable than a fairy garden tea party?

This piece is really quite sweet :) Those cute as a button Miniature Table & Chairs come from Alpha Stamps, as do the Paper Flowers.

 
I've used Botanical Tea to embellish my wooden spool, which was then wrapped some pretty embroidered organza and finished off with a bit of jute twine. A Candlestick Holder puts the whole scene on a little pedestal.

Knowing that fairies are particularly fond of elevenses and a hot afternoon cuppa, I think they would approve.

 

This piece is currently listed HERE

LAST CALL for Plum Pudding Market!

Just a bit of a shout out to any local artists and makers who might be interested...

I'm putting together a Christmas market at Casa-Dea Estates Winery on November 29th, 2014.

Space is very limited and the deadline to apply is tomorrow BUT if you're near enough and want to join in, please send in your info quick as can be.

Full details at plumpuddingmarket.blogspot.ca

A spooky little something with Petaloo

Autumn has arrived. The leaves are just starting to turn, the evenings are getting cooler, and while these things may turn the thoughts of many to sweaters and apple cider... my mind races with witches and pumpkins!

Halloween is a big deal in my household. I gladly jump at any opportunity to make something for that holiday. Any chance to add more Halloween to my decor! So I present this little piece of hanging Halloween.

The base of this little round shrine is a round cardboard lid. I've wrapped the exterior with some black Crochet Lace Trim then embellished with a combination of black Burlap Blossoms, Textured MiniBlossoms, MixedTextured Layers and lavender Botanica Blooms.

A spider ring crawling through the pretty blooms, and plastic toy bones, add a good dose of creepy. I've also added a vintage image and a spooky sentiment clipped from the pages of a terrible book. And aren't those little pumpkins amazing? They're actually seed pods!

 

Here's my supply list, but don't let it limit you! I think those black and purple blooms are just about the most perfect Halloween combination, but orange and white would also make for some spooktacular festive decor.

Crochet Lace Fancy Trim Black SKU: 1482-148Burlap Blossoms Black SKU: 1200-209
MixedTextured MiniBlossoms Black SKU: 1263-209
MixedTextured Layers Black SKU: 1257-209
Botanica Blooms Lav/Purple SKU: 1102-107
Cardboard lid
Black acrylic paint
Glitter and star sequins
Vintage 'witch' image
Pumpkin pods
Jute
Toy spider, fence and skeleton

Dear spooky ooky Poe

I woke up to this view. It's lovely. Quiet. Still. Magical. At the same time it's a little bit creepy and sort of spooky... but that's ok, creepy can be rather lovely too.

Take dear old Edgar. He's a creepy fellow, eerie tales and poems... at the same time, they tug at your heart and you can't help but like the fellow.

This month Alpha Stamps has been celebrating Poe with an entire kit filled with crafty goods in honor of the dear author and all things horror.

My contribution was this frilly and fussy homage Poe, including a nod to his raven and his tell tale heart ;)

Want to create your own Poe masterpiece? Hop over to Alpha Stamps and check out the Poe themed kit on offer. AND if you're really itching to get your creep on, they're having a sale on their entire Halloween section!

For small pests

Did you know that small vampires have the sharpest teeth? It's true! They may not suck you dry but they will definitely leave a mark and you'll feel quite groggy afterwards.

I've created three wee vampire hunting kits in tiny coffins. Suitable for either very small hunters of vamps or hunting very small blood suckers.

They each measure approximately 6" x 3.25" x 1.5" tall. Inside you will find a brass stamped bat, a mirror, mallet and three wooden stakes, cross, a vial marked 'Holy Water" and a tiny 'Holy Bible'.

Please note: I am totally behind and these are the only ones that will be available this year.

 Currently listed in the etsy shop:

Black lid / Purple interior

Orange lid / Orange interior

Green lid / Black interior

Sweet little things

I love little frames. Tiny spaces waiting to be filled with snips and scraps and small sentiments. I have quite the stash of them in my studio.

You'd think that their small size would mean a quick and easy project... and they can be... but more often than not, I pour over those little spaces just as long and laboriously as their larger cousins.

Here I've layered some sweet vintage images with fussy cut butterflies and flowers from Sweet Sentiments and Baby 2 Bride then added some nice words I've clipped from old books.

 

Two sweet little whimsical things to welcome fall magic.

Golden frame listed HERE

Silver frame listed HERE

Lace Tea Cottages with Tresors de Luxe

These super cute cottages were created using Movers & Shapers House and Window dies with Graphic 45's Botanical Tea collection. They've been decorated with all sorts of snips of Tresors de Luxe lace and embellishments.

I often work on small scale projects, because of this every scrap becomes precious. Just a few tiny snippets of lace here and there are all that is needed to gussy up these tiny tea shops, but they add a big impact.

Don't be afraid to deconstruct and combine laces! I often cut elements from  Tresors de Luxe laces and they hold up very well. If you are worried about those tiny snips fraying or unraveling, simply apply a bit of white glue to the cut edges to keep everything in place.

So be sure to save those little scraps, you never know when a tea sipping fairy will need some embellishment to her little cottage :)


Lace Trim in Ivory LA-107
Trim Pearl Beaded Alencon Trim LA-805
Lace Trim Venice Lace LA-137
Multi Colored Chiffon Flowers FL-181
Rustic Green Shabby Chic Flower Embellishment FL-099
Lace Trim Beaded  LA-005
Ivory Lace Trim with Multi Colored Sequins  LA-121
Movers & Shapers House and Window dies
Graphic 45's Botanical Tea collection including 6" Solids and Patterns Pad, Tags & Chipboard + more

Yarrr!

Ahoy matey! Tis the day I've been a-waitin' fer, International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Earlier this week I put out a challenge to all of the land lubbers out there to create something worthy of a sea faring buccaneer. The mighty Ms Kay showed that she is no scallywag and sent me pictures of this treasure...

Tis pretty enough to soothe the barnacles from a crusty poop deck.

 
It's never too late to jump into the craftin' crows nest, drink some rum and make a blasted mess so the PDF of piratey goodness is still available for download HERE.

Finally, for those beauties who requested a tutorial or template for the wee sailing vessels, hang on to your hornpipes and set your eyeballs on this moving picture show....