Important Announcement: Fairy Tour 2015

This year I'm doing things a little differently for Pixie Hill's annual Fairy Tour. I'll be changing the sign out front and our little spot will become "Pixie Hill Fairy Sanctuary and Museum" for the duration of the summer.

All of the fairy specimens that I've been showing off will be on display.

And outside our resident wee folk will be setting up house once again.

They're already starting to slowly reveal themselves.

Hopefully they hurry so that all will be in place by July 4th, for our 'Opening Ceremony' celebrations.

Here's the what's what as it stands right now:

• Requests for fairy mail must be received no later than June 28th.

Email [email protected] with the name and age of the recipient.

Personalized fairy mail is $5 per letter.

Each letter is unique, and adorned with tiny stamps and sealed with wax.

• There will be a self guided scavenger hunt and other tasks/games to preform for 'awards'

• There is no charge to attend but a donation is appreciated.

• Cash or credit card payments are accepted for 'gift shop/studio' purchases

Interac is NOT available... though you could etransfer if in a pinch.

An Altered Trophy and Fond Farewell

My time with Graphic 45 has come to an end. It's been such great fun and I've enjoyed every minute of my two terms with them. Amazing products. Amazing people. Just an absolute pleasure all around. It's a sad but satisfying goodbye. I'll miss the camaraderie, the giant boxes of goodies, the assignments... but I've learned so much, made new friends, and have a boatload of nice memories. What more could a girl ask for?

The very last project I created for G45. My very favourite of all the altered awards I've created. She's just a bundle of magic and I am certain she will end up with someone very deserving.

I’ve always had a thing for awards. (Ribbons, sashes and crowns too.) Those things that symbolically represent being awesome. Maybe it’s because I didn’t play sports as a kid, that I never had a shelf full of trophies, that they appeal to me so much. 

When I saw the Tim Holtz trophy cups I knew I was going to change the fact that I did not have a trophy shelf. As luck would have it, I came across some trophy cups with the kids party favours in my local discount store. Score! 

Some wooden blocks and the additions of a fantastic Door Knocker, Antique Metal Door Pull, Stamped Metal Brad, and those amazing Claw Feet…. and ta-da! I’ve cobbled together something pretty special.

Know someone who absolutely NEEDS this wee gal? She's listed HERE

Or you can have fun making your own version...

Supply List

Door Knockers
Antique Metal Door Pulls
Stamped Metal Brads
Claw Feet
Once Upon a Springtime Deluxe Collector's Edition
Small plastic trophy cups
Tim Holtz Mirrored Stars
Wooden Blocks
Small brass wings
Petaloo Bontanica Petites
Vintage Image
Just Wings Collage Sheet Transparency
Acrylic paint
White glitter
Burlap Ribbon
Hat pin
Adhesives

I've got one or two additional Graphic 45 projects to show off over the next week or so, and you'll still see their products featured in my work. Can't wait to see what the new G45 team creates :)

One Little Thing - Great Women

This weeks challenge is about recognizing and celebrating great women.

Think about a women (or women) that you admire and create one little thing in homage.

Girl power!

An Utterly Nonsensical Wishing-go-round

Being utterly nonsensical once in a while is good for the soul. 

So, I am pleased to present a completely ridiculous project this month. 

I offer you a glittery 'Wishing-Go-Round'. This 15" slice of whimsy is created with Gina's Moon & Stars String Alongs, Celestial Shape Set, Spool, a bit of scrapbook paper and a whole lot of glitter.

I know some people aren't keen on glitter... but the stuff makes me positively giddy. It really adds a dash of magic to this piece.

If you'd like to create your own twinkling thing-a-ma-bob I have a video tutorial for you HERE. 

If  you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to help.

I 100% encourage nonsense and whimsy after all :)

Supply List:

String Alongs - Moon & StarsCelestial Shape SetSpool LargeScrapbook Paper
Glitter
White glue
Hot glue
Thin Fleur Dresden Borders - GoldStar Wired Garland
Celestial themed charms such as:
Man in the Moon - Raw Brass 

Faerie Weaponry

Today I'll be exploring faerie weaponry. 

Faerie weapons are used for protection, to cause harm (in the case of malicious faeries like boggarts and goblins), for ceremony, and as tools. As with the other artifacts we have examined, they are made (mostly) of natural materials and difficult to uncover in the wild.

1. Pixie Bow and Thorned Arrow: The Pixie Bow is a lightweight weapon used primarily for protection. The tiny thorn tipped projectile does not cause massive damage, its hit being likened to a bee sting.

2. Feather Blow Dart with Sliver Points: Made from a hollowed feather shaft the blow dart is an excellent choice for faerie folk who wish to keep their distance and remain silent. Slivers of wood are often used as ammunition. Injury may not be immediately felt but may result in infection.

3. Unknown Bone Staff: I readily admit that I am not absolutely certain of the origins of this object. It may, in fact, be a ceremonial artifact. That being said, it is quite possible (and rather more likely) that this claw tipped bone once belonged to a Dunter. This is a logical conclusion as the objects effectiveness as a weapon would being secondary to it's ability to intimidate.

4. Faerie Pike and Pine Cone Shield: An unusual metal tipped specimen. Fair folk are usually reluctant to use steel, preferring shards of glass, stone or sharpened bone to tip their weapons. Whoever created this pike could not resist the allure of a discarded cutting blade. The shield, made from a pine cone has moss embedded between the 'cones'. The moss is likely included for it's healing properties, to pack any wounds incurred during a clash.

5. Twiggy Slingshot with Dried Bean Shot: A very simple but effective weapon and tool. Commonly used to plant seeds by shooting them into the earth. A favourite weapon to protect against cats.

6. Wishbone Slingshot: A stronger, larger version of the Twiggy Slingshot more likely to be used during a ruckus, rumble or rumpus than it's wooden counterpart.

7. Wooden Tuck Sword: A simple point carved from wood with a woolen grip. A common accessory for many little people. It is especially useful for poking, prodding, pricking, piercing, and puncturing.

These artifacts will be on display at Pixie Hill throughout the summer. Open house dates can be found HERE. 

Note: Our first open house is this weekend, please be aware the garden/fairy tour is NOT yet set up. The tour will be revealed on July 4th. This Saturday is for studio snooping only.

Gina's Designs Birthday Hop Winner

Congratulations to the Winner of the Gina's Designs Birthday blog hop! JackieP Neal won the Steampunk Shape Set that I am giving away here on my blog. Congratulations!!! Please follow the steps below to claim your prize!

The Grand Prize winner has been announced over on the Gina's DesignsBlog which you can find here

1) Please email Gina at [email protected]

2) Place "Birthday Blog Hop Winner" in your email Subject line

3) Please state what blog you won on and the shape set you won

4) Please provide your mailing address

*****NOTE: Your email must be received by Friday June 5th at 5pm CST or a NEW Winner will be chosen****

One Little Thing - My Favourite Song

Music plays such an important role in our lives. It punctuates our celebrations. It comforts us. It makes us shake our booties.

Your challenge this week is to create one little thing based on a favourite song.

I think the hard part will be picking just one song!

Faerie Dust Specimens

Continuing the examination of faerie artifacts found at Pixie Hill, today we take a look at several varieties of Faerie Dust.



While not all of the little people distribute or use faerie dust, it is used by many and worth examination.

Fig. 1 Common House Faerie Dust: The most common of all magical dust distributed by brownies, house elves and other home dwelling magical creatures. Frequently mistaken for ordinary house dust. Fastidious distributors of this dust will simply replace dust that has been 'cleaned' by the human inhabitants.

Fig. 2 Trooping Elf Dust: Found in mossy areas where trooping elves are known to parade. Difficult to find due to camouflage. Is distinguishable only by slight iridescent flecks.

Fig. 3 Geancanach Dust: This dust is particular to faeries who guard or live near hearth fires or fireplaces. This dust is named after one such faerie, the Irish Geancanach (not to be confused with the completely different creature, Gancanagh). This dust resembles fine soot and is prized by witches who recognize it's magical potency. 

Fig. 4 Piggywiggins Garden Dust: Utilized by a species of garden faerie (the Piggywiggin) to promote garden growth. It is a fine mixture of pollen, seeds and some sort of a golden magical substance. Piggywiggins will freely distribute their dust if kept content and happy and on good terms with the farmer/gardener.

Fig. 5 Fairy Godmother Dust: This particular dust is comprised mainly of glitter. It is often more potent as a theatrical devise than magical tool. It is a favourite of Fairy Godmothers (who adore showmanship) to add pinache to their flamboyant spell weaving style.

Fig. 6 Frost Faerie Dust: One of the most difficult types of faerie dust to collect. This dust is mingled with snow and samples must be collected grain by grain. Distributed by cold climate faeries when temperatures reach a freezing point.

Fig. 7 Night Faerie Dust: Unique in its dark shimmering colour, night faerie dust is used sparingly by nocturnal faeries. The main magical uses for night faerie dust are to facilitate human sleeping and to protect dwellings from bumps and other naughty nighttime occurrences.

Side Show Ballyhoo Stage

This month's theme at Alpha Stamps is "Join the Circus". I've been a little cheeky with the miniature trunk parts that were sent to me and created some Side Show Ballyhoo platforms instead.

Let's be serious, how could I resist making something called a 'Ballyhoo'?!

ballyhoo: bal-ee-hoo 
1. a noisy, confused, or nonsensical situation or uproar
2. sensational or blatant advertising or publicity
3. to advertise or publicize by sensational or blatant methods

Not only are these pretty dang adorable, but they were fairly easy to make too.

AND to prove it, I have a tutorial for you! 

You can check out the Snapguide tutorial for all of these pieces HERE.

And here is your full supply list:

Carnival Scrapbook Paper - Big Top

Carnival Scrapbook Paper - Calliope

Chipboard Steamer Trunk

Circus Performers #1 Collage Sheet

Gold Sweeper Fringe

Gypsy Coin Mix*

May 2015 Kit - Run Away and Join the Circus

Mini Floral Dresden Borders - Antique Gold

Run Away and Join the Circus Add-On Kit
Thin Fleur Dresden Borders - Black
Thin Fleur Dresden Borders - Gold
Thin Looped Dresden Borders - Black
Tim Holtz Long Mini Brads
Vintage Magician Posters Collage Sheet
Circus Folk Collage Sheet 
Sideshow Folk Collage Sheet 
Glue
Wooden Stir Sticks
Paint/pencil crayons for colouring

Or if you're lazy (like me) all of the pieces can be found in one handy place HERE

A miniature hutch in progress

I'm showing off a project that isn't exactly complete today. Gina's Designs Lasercuts asked me if I wanted create a sample for their new Miniature China Cabinet and of coarse I said "Heck yeah!"

Cute, right? Here's a peek before being all gussied up. 

The size is is 5" x 7" but it 'feels' larger. The shelving space is massive and if you were putting very teeny weeny things inside you might just be able to add an extra shelf or two. It IS larger than most mini-hutches I've come across, but I think people who aren't comfortable with teeeeeeny tiny might appreciate the extra space.

The ornamental scroll-ish bits I've adorned this with are made with Paperclay from this Silicone Mold - Architectural Flourishes. The little lock on the bottom cupboard doors is a Prima Shabby Chic Metal Door Lock. For the feet I've used 12mm Wooden Drawer Pulls stacked with a 3/4 Inch Wooden Wheel.  

As for the hinges, well I used what was on hand and it wasn't perfect. You'll want to find hinges that swing freely and attach with very short screws. Trust me... use the screws. Depending on the size of your hinges, you'll need at least two for each top door and one for each bottom door for 'larger' hinges or three for each top and two for each bottom if you can find some great tiny ones.

And now comes the fun part: filling it! I do have an inkling what will be placed in my cabinet... but my plans seem to have a mind of their own lately so I'll keep it a bit of a secret before showing off the finished piece.

What would you fill this tiny cabinet with?

Supply List:
Miniature China Cabinet
Creative Paperclay* 
Silicone Mold - Architectural Flourishes
Prima Shabby Chic Metal Door Lock
12mm Wooden Drawer Pulls 
3/4 Inch Wooden Wheel
Acrylic paint
Hinges

A Bent Needle Box for Petaloo

A few months back I came across a post about "The Festival of Broken Needles", or Hari-Kuyo, a Japanese custom honoring broken sewing needles. As someone who sees the beauty and worth of ordinary objects, I was immediately captivated. Broken, bent and worn sewing needles are saved, then honored on a special day by placing them in cakes of tofu and offering them thanks before they are laid to rest. It's a bit more complex than that, but that's it in a nutshell.

I wanted to honor my own bent needles and so I've created a little mossy box for them to 'retire' in. 

I've covered the box with paper from the 6x6" Junque Gypsy pad from Marion Smith and fussy cut some butterflies for embellishment. The corners are dotted with Petaloo Chantilly-VelvHydrangeas. I've also included an Embellishment Brad to finish things off.

Supply list:

Chantilly-VelvHydrangeas
Embellishment Brad
Junque Gypsy 6" paper packBagatelle Box 1.5 by 3 inch12mm Wooden Box Feet
Moss
Branches
Glue
Acrylic paint
Bent Needles

And be sure to stop by Petaloo this week. They have a whole week of projects created with Petaloo and Marion Smith papers and there's prizes to be won!

Artisan Style card for Graphic 45

Handmade cards are so handy to have around. Artisan Style is such a perfect collection for creating‘any time’ cards. The designs and colour pallet are sophisticated, making it easy to create stylish cards suitable for Thank-you’s, hostess gifts or any number of occasions.

Supply List

Artisan Style > Decorative Flourish
Artisan Style > Artisan Style Ephemera Cards
Artisan Style StickerArtisan Style 6x6 Patterns & SolidsArtisan Style Journaling ChipboardArtisan Style Decorative ChipboardShabby Chic Ornate Metal Keys
Petaloo Botanica Petites
Petaloo Botanica Spring Berry clusters
Core’dinations Graphic 45 Signature Series - Tuscan Sunset
Black Mayarts Ribbon
Thin Looped Dresden Borders - Black
Flat back adhesive pearls

There's more handmade cards on the Graphic 45 blog today, so be sure to hop over and have a peek.

Wand Specimens

Wands are often lost, misplaced or discarded by the fair folk. Their size, and the natural materials with which they are made, provide excellent camouflage making them difficult to uncover. Today we will take a look at several varieties of faerie wands found at Pixie Hill.

Fig.1 The 'Thorned Goblin Rod' provides all of the magical qualities of a wand and may also be used a weapon. Created from a young black locust branch, the thorns aren't just dangerous in appearance, they are poisonous. A scratch from the sharp points will cause pain that may last for several days.

Fig. 2: The 'House Brownie Wand' is completely utilitarian. It is free from excess embellishment or flamboyance. The wood used in its creation is maple, a good all 'round magical wood. This specimen has a handle of well worn cotton. (Note: If you find a similar wand near your home do not pick it up. Your house brownie likely put it down momentarily and will return for it.)



Fig. 3: This natural bone wand has a moss wrapped handle. Bone wands are far less common than wooden wands but not unheard of. Found in on the mossy ground beneath the big pines on the back lawn, it is likely that this once belonged to a forest dwelling faerie. Possibly dropped by a migratory Duwende.

Fig.4: This very small wooden wand has a decorative carved handle. Although it's carving suggests elf or gnome origins, its size is more indicative of imp ownership. More exploration may be warranted to see if pygmy elves are inhabiting the grounds.

Fig. 5: This small wand has a webbed grip indicating that it's owner was in good standing with spiders and other insects. Flower faeries are known to have an excellent relationship with arachnids, often working together to aid in the maintenance and care of gardens.



Fig. 6: It is well known that most creatures with fae blood are repulsed by iron, steel, silver and other metals. There are a few examples to the contrary, dwarfs, ogres and some trolls, creatures who mine and forge are less affected by some metals. This delicate tiny wand seems unlikely to have been wielded by a troll so one must wonder.... to whom did it belong?

This collection of wands and other faerie artifacts will be on display at the studio throughout the summer. Please check the events page for open house dates.

One Little Thing - Rain

Ok, crafty people, this week your prompt is 'Rain'

Spend just a few minutes reflecting on this weeks theme, then create one little thing. Easy peasy!

Have fun!