Fairy Wands & Peeping Toms

I was sitting in my craft room watching Excalibur and making fairy wands when who should appear my my window? Another peeping tom frog!

 

I know he's a tree frog but it still amazes me that such a wee thing can make it all the way up to our second story window. I still prefer to think they are jumping up :)

Here's a sneak peek at the wee wands.

We're off to the local pirate festival in the morning and I'm very excited about maybe possibly dressing up. Hope the day is full of "Arrrgh, matey!"'s

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning....

We're all in a tizzy here as we're expecting house guests tomorrow. Our good friends from our old home town are coming up for a little stay. The kiddo is extra excited to see his good friend, whom he has known since pre-school, and has loads of things he wants to see and do with him. I'm crossing my fingers very tightly that no one gets into the poison ivy. Just in case I've done a happy home spell to encourage only good things :)

Not too much going on here craft wise. I've been organizing my stash which had somehow made it's way into four jumbled boxes. Now I just might be able to find those little bits and bobs that were escaping my crafty fingers. Here's a completed page for the the Round Book Tip In Swap now on it's way...

"Things with Wings"

A visitor in the clothespeg bin

I adore our new home. The air is fresh and the views are stunning. The night sky is filled with gorgeous stars that actually twinkle. Birds sing to us all day long. It's a dream land. I just thank my lucky stars every day that bugs don't creep me out because they are everywhere, and they are huge. If I was, in any way leery of the creepy crawlies I'd be in serious trouble here.

This morning, as I was hanging laundry to dry, I found this fine fellow at the bottom of my clothes peg bin.

He was such a strapping thing that initially I thought it was a plastic bug my kiddo had misplaced. Nope. The legs gave a bit of a wiggle and I knew he was the real deal. I felt sort of bed for the guy, he was pretty sluggish and looked a little 'dented'.

After a few photos we returned him to the wild. It was a pretty exciting few moments for a seven year old boy... okay, I admit that I thought it was pretty cool too.

P.S. So, I guess this guy is a member of the scarab family. He likely lives in a hollow of one of the old trees that we have on the grounds. Apparently you can keep them as pets! If I find another maybe we'll feed it lovely things for a while before sending him back out to fend for himself.

Ta da!!!!

Phew! It's not 100% but I figured it was close enough to upload.

Yes, I have FINALLY updated my web site.

knickertwists.com

Go ahead, snoop around!

More small things

HO. LEE. SMOKES. I've been working like a crazy cat lady trying to update the Knickertwist's website. It's coming along but it's also taking ages upon ages.

I've been photographing little things to freshen up the place... gosh I'm lovin' small things at the moment.

Seriously, what the heck did I do before my digital camera? It wasn't that long ago that I was still putting film in a camera. When I think of all the $$$ I spent on film processing...

My kiddo was horrified when he saw me photographing that wee eggshell. He found it upon the lawn the other day (that lovely blue sticking out against the green green grass). Anyway, he was sure that I was going to claim it for my crafting stash. I guess he's had one too many marbles go missing for the sake of art :)

Tiny Books Left to be Found

So I've spent the last couple of days making 9 new tiny faerie journals. These ones I will leave around my little town for strangers to find and scratch their heads over. The only thing left is to make "Read Me" tags and hide the wee things.

Each of them has the same little rhyme inside, and the same elements, but all are slightly different in their design. None are signed or have any contact information on them... the giant K on the front page is the only clue to it's maker and no one will decipher that ;)

Fingers crossed

Last night, while putting the wee fella to bed, we were talking about crossed fingers. He had asked me if I had ever made a promise that I didn't keep and I replied, "Yes, but my fingers were crossed so it didn't count."

That certainly got his attention.

My 7 year old said that crossed fingers were for making good things come true, as in hoping for something and good luck, as in 'keep your fingers crossed'. He was totally unaware that fingers crossed behind your back meant an untrue promise.

The next 15 minutes were spent making fake promises with our fingers crossed. "Tomorrow I promise to give you ten dollars!" followed by a fit of giggles.

More Teeny Weeny Stuff

I've been on a bit of a faerie kick lately. Here are a few pics of my latest thing-a-ma-bobs, wee Handmade Faerie Altered Journals.

They each measure about 1.75" x 2.25".

An "Awesome" Craft

I signed myself up for the "Be Awesome" swap on craftster. The guideline? Just craft one awesome thing for your partner.

I was pretty stumped as to what to make until my partner sent me a message suggesting that I might make something that would provide magical inspiration. I sat myself down and made a list of things that inspire me and soon realized how many ordinary, everyday things were on that list. So, in the end I sent a wee magical house filled with everyday inspirations like ladybugs, stars and Popsicle sticks.

 

 

My partner is away for a few days but her package should be waiting for her when she arrives home. I'm so excited for her to get it. I'm really proud of this wee house and I hope she loves it to bits :)

P.S. For the curious, I did not make the house from scratch. It is a kit, the kind that you buy from a craft shop, that simply snaps together. It was great fun and I totally recommend giving it a try, once you get to the decorating it completely sucks you in.

Everyday Magic

After the difficult year we've just put behind us it sure is a blessing to see such magical things in our new surroundings. Bouquets of four leaf clover, tiny fairy rings, wee frogs eavesdropping on bedtime stories, it all makes sense now. Apparently we actually live at the end of the rainbow.

Now if I could just find that pot-o-gold.

Un-packing Treasures

I'm still unpacking boxes... loads and loads of boxes. I wonder if the unpacking will ever cease. I'm running out of places to stash my stash.

I had a spurt of enthusiasm this morning and tried to tackle more of the office. The huge mound of boxes in the corner yielded a few nifty finds including a collection of old Christmas ornaments.

I really wonder where they've all come from because I don't recall ever having so many and we certainly didn't buy them. Perhaps they are multiplying in their cozy dark hiding places.

Think I'm kidding? It very well could be true! Just look at the bag of baby ornaments I found. Each is about the size of a marble.

The best find of the day? A Chuck Norris Ninja comic book! I wonder if my husband even remembers having this?

Phoenix Rising

Still can't share any awesome crafting *grumble* so I will share a story with a happy ending instead.

For as long as I can remember my mum has loved horses. When I was growing up there wasn't money for much of anything (heck, we didn't even have a phone) never mind money for a filly or riding of any sort. Still, my mum maintained her adoration and would get that dreamy look in her eyes thinking about them. It's the same look some girls get when they talk about shoes and designer clothes. It's the one I get when I think about glitter and collecting old buttons.

For the past couple of years my mum has been going riding and spending time at the stables. She goes to the stable and earns her keep. She shovels poo and does all that horsey stuff that horsey people enjoy. Christ, I'm sure she even does some of the stuff no one in their right mind would want to do because she's so damned horse crazy she'll do anything for the hoofed things.

One day, just a couple of months ago, she excitedly announced that she was buying a horse.

This is the horse she bought.

The lady who owns the stable bought the horse in this condition, brought her to the stables, and named her Phoenix. A month after the above photo was taken Phoenix looked like this...

When my mum showed off photos of her new 'baby' there were a number of comments about her changing colour and that she looked "different". I'll admit to being a bit skeptical myself, but she looked like a sweet thing.

Just a few weeks later and Phoenix went to her first horse show.

My mum had mentioned changing Phoenix's name but she had never heard the story of the mythical bird. As any Harry Potter fan can tell you, the phoenix is beautiful bird which dies in a burst of flames but is reborn again, rising from the ashes. The stable owner just happens to be a Potter fan.

Above is a photo of Phoenix my mum posted today. Just three short months after that first sad snapshot and it seems Phoenix is living up to her name.

Oh Lucky Day

Rolling around on the lawn ticking the kiddo this evening I gathered myself a wee bouquet of four leave clovers. Heck, I started things off by finding a five leaf one!

Nothing fantastically fabulous happened today, and I don't expect that a pot of gold will land on my doorstep, but I do like finding the wee things. They give me a bit of perk :)

A tiny peeping tom

After reading D his bed time story I walked over to turn out the light. Something caught my eye at the window and I found this little fellow staring up at me.

A teeny weeny little green frog sitting on the ledge of a second story window! Perhaps he needed a bedtime story too. He stayed for quite a while but was gone in the morning. I sure do hope he got down safely.

A peek

I've been a busy gal over the past few weeks. Moving in, houseguests, swaps... phew!

I STILL can't really post anything pretty just yet but I will post a sneaky peek of my favourite recently crafted item...

It should have been in the post yesterday but it needed a few last finishing touches. Better late than never *sigh* Heck, I had to talk myself into sending this one :)

A Mid-Summer Night Dream

Hope your summer celebration is as magical as can be :)