An inspiration gone...

Maurice Sendak died today and I've got a case of the sads.

It wasn't until adulthood, when I started reading to my kidlet, that I discovered Mr. Sendak's work. It wasn't love at first sight, but over time it became deep respect and admiration. That's the best kind of love if you ask me.

I'm a rockstar!

Ok, not really. But I do feel  very fancy indeed because a gorgeous glossy local magazine, County and Quinte Living, did an article on my work.

Veronica Leonard wrote such lovely things about my work and made me sound very, very nice. I couldn't be more thrilled or grateful :)

Also in arty news, I've been invited to join the board of the Brighton Arts Council. I'm so excited about being part of the BAC. It really is the most amazing group of talented, kind and generous people you could hope to meet. If you aren't a member of your local arts council, I highly recommend joining.

Now, I'm off to do the floors.... eeesh! They are a fright.

xoxo

P.S. Anyone else not seeing the "Follow" option on the top blogger bar when they go a-visitin' other blogs? I only see 'Share' now and it's driving me nuts!

Ms. Pish & Posh

I was going to name these gals Pish and Posh. What do you think?

The kiddo is off on his very first trip to the symphony. He's going to Toronto to see the Sci-Fi Spectacular hosted by George Takei. I usually go on school trips and I really, really wanted to go on this one (George Takei!!!) but I've got to prep for an art show this weekend. Also, I think the kid liked the idea of a trip without his mum... boring old goat that I am :)

If you happen to be passing through my little town of Brighton this weekend, stop by the BAC Jubilee Art Show & Sale at the King Edward Community Centre and say 'Hiya!'

The Squirrel's End - A Goblin Pub

It's done! I am pleased to present The Squirrel's End, public house of choice of the finest goblins.

The main pubby area

There are loads of little boozy bead bottles under the bar.

Cheap beer! That's two old six pence for a big frothy pint.

There's a chicken roasting on the spit, a twig mop, and see that mount over the fireplace? A found duck skull.

This would be my table. I'm always spilling stuff. Did you notice the graffiti on the tables?

One of my most favourite things in the pub is that handmade dart boards.

The tiny dominoes ain't half bad either though. Can you spy the vintage Guinness coasters?

How about the gum under the tables?

Upstairs is the storage.

There's cheese, nuts, and booze galore!

When I saw this hand in a package of pointing fingers I purchased I knew it HAD to go into the pub. And so you see that little round number thingy? An old French lottery number!

Can you see that bar of soap? It's soap!

I'm pretty proud of this toilet hobbled out of bits of wood and a q-tip.

Just two more photos. They'll give you an idea of scale...

xoxo

Happy May Day :)

How to... make Faerie Specimens

I've got a brand new round of sick going on. Ug. I hate being sick (then again, who likes it?).

Below is a new viddy explaining how to make these little faerie cloche specimens.

If you do make some, head over to the Alpha Stamps Yahoo Group, show off your creation and you could win a Pixie Hill prize pack! The domes are listed HERE on alphastamps.com

I'm going back to bed for an hour to see if I can bore these germs to death.

Garage Sale Madness

I was up before 8 am today.

I do not like to be up before 9 am unless absolutely necessary. (like every single weekday that I must pack lunch and get the kid off to school and do all that other mum stuff.)

But my husband has the garage sale itch, which I suppose is better than any other sort of itch he could have, so I dragged my sorry bottom out of bed. Today's haul is this...

That, my friends, is exactly $9 worth of garage sale goods. Our haul today? An aluminum chicken feeder and vintage hair clipper (not pictured) a glass cloche with real butterfly, ugly tin clock, an old bird cage (75¢ SEVENTY FIVE CENTS!), misc wood letters, a glass cocktail shaker with all of it's bits in place, all sitting on a $1 kiddy table and... my very favourite... a little wicker doll buggy.

Maybe getting  up before 9am isn't such a bad idea after all.

Goblin Pub Update

After a bit of a break I'm back to work on the miniature goblin's pub. The place now has a name "The Squirrel's End" and the exterior is coming along nicely.

The inside is giving me a bit of grief however. It's not turning out how I imagined at all. Things just aren't fitting no matter how much I force them (yes, I am aware that is exactly my problem).

I did add one thing to the interior that I like very much...

... a hatch door on the second floor! I have to add screw heads but I really like it. It doesn't close all the way (grrrr) but it can still be played with and I like that very much.

I also made some seating for the pub which was a giant struggle. I like how the twiggy things look sort of like antlers. The seat part is made from cork which I thought was appropriate for a pubby place. The little round pub tables? Well, there's graffiti on those :)

That's it for now. I'm hoping to have this done by next weekend for the Brighton Arts Council Spring Jubilee Art Show and Sale... fingers crossed!

P.S. Just a reminder that I'll be chatting over at the Alpha Stamps Yahoo Group tomorrow at 4pm est. for their reproduction challenge. Come on over and I'll love you forever.

xoxo