Down the rabbit hole

"In another moment down went Alice after it, 

never once considering how in the world she was to get out again."

Poor little Alice begins her long fall down the rabbit hole and her adventure begins.

Have I ever told you the story of D and the rabbit?

I distinctly remember that it was a drizzly spring day, the sort of day that reminds one of rural England: damp, green, lush. We were visiting a small winery and little D was with us. He was quite young at the time, perhaps 3 years old. While we stood tasting wine at the bar, he was looking out of a door which opened into a sort of small cobbled courtyard.

Suddenly D became very excited, exclaiming "Mum! Mum!" and I followed as he rushed out the door. He toddled around a corner following a low hedge leading to an open lawn. When he reached the end of the hedgerow a rabbit rushed out and dashed across the grass.

"You found a lovely rabbit." I said to him.

"No, it was an elf!" D corrected me.

When I asked why he thought the creature was an elf he told me, quite seriously, that he had seen elf ears, an elf nose, elf coat and hat. He explained that when he saw the creature and began to chase it, it had jumped into the hedge and changed into a rabbit.

Being that children see far clearer than most grown people, I fully believe him.

Moonwort and Japanese Teacups

I am continually amazed by my two acre world and the new discoveries and small joys it provides. This morning, on our walk to the bus stop, I spied something in the snow. A branch from a Silver Dollar plant, also called Moonwort. AlchemyWorks says that it is good for keeping away monsters and gathering midnight, moon charged dew. How lovely!

We went thrifting a few weeks ago and found some tiny Japanese tea cups. The fairies immediately took up residence in them...

And for sizing reference, here's one of the tiny cups beside a normal dainty teacup.

The Borrowers Box

What does a fairy lovin' mess maker create for craftster.org's challenge no. 83, a shoebox makeover?

THIS!

Yeah, not so exciting... BUT WAIT! Some things are not as simple as they appear... THIS box is a Borrower's Box!
 

The box as it was made completely with stash, junk, and found or free objects. 

(P.S. THANK YOU to all of my fabulous crafty patrons who send me stuff xoxo)

 A bed made from an old sardine tin with a mossy pillow. The nightstand is a checker piece with bead feet.

The ladder is made from two old paintbrushes and matchsticks. 

Notice the 'nerf' dart to the left? Yeah, there's about a zillion of them hiding all over my house.

 A spool chair and a table made from a button and matchsticks.

(No wonder my bird feeder is empty. It's borrowers!)

The bottom floor is filled with necessary borrowing supplies like twine, pins, thumbtacks, birthday candles and, of course, super glue.

Here's an 'in progress' shot of that same area where you can see how it was built. The upper floors are made from an old game board that has been sliced up. The floor rests on clothespegs that have been taken apart. The springy part of the pegs were then bent and are now hooks for hanging things. And, you can also see the bottom floor has a cozy rug made from a burlap rice bag.

The only inkling that there's anything 'different' about this box is this tiny window on the back.

Other than that, all closed up, it's just a regular old shoe box.

_________________________________________________

Now, what to do with that box?

Should I put it up for auction to raise fund for the Pixie Project?
(although shipping the thing scares the bejezus out of me)

OR

Abandon it for my local library, with a note that it should be kept in their childrens section?
(Our library is TINY... itty bitty even! I don't think it would incur too much damage.)

Any other ideas? Comment below.

There's a poll on the top right of the page. Vote away!

A visitor

I was working away in my upstairs office this past weekend when I saw a huge owl swoop down and settle in on of the trees which shades our vegetable patch. Quick as a bunny I grabbed my camera and ran downstairs. I tried to be very sneaky and very quiet to get a good photo of the feathery thing. Turns out that owls aren't that bothered by humans and he stayed exactly where he was.

 

He looked at me curiously, but didn't seem to mind my snapping too much.

He was quite large. I'd say at least 18" tall. I'm fairly certain that this visitor was a Barred Owl. They have the blackest eyes you can imagine. Quite eerie to peer into actually. Have you ever had a close encounter with an owl?

Toadstool Cottages

I made these this weekend...

 

There's something so perfect about a toadstool being transformed into a fairy cottage or gnome home. It's completely logical.

 

They measure approximately 4.5" tall. The toadstools are paper mache, the doors are wood, the little knob is a tiny metal brad, add some moss, some gorgeous little paper roses and 'Ta da!'

  

I've made four in all. This one has been listed on etsy,
I think the others will be sent to local shops.

Beatrice vs Bellatrix

Last April we bought a hamster.

I am not a big fan of rodents but we were at an auction and the kid was beggin', and it came with all the bells and whistles so I agreed. I remembered when I was a young gal and had guinea pigs and birds... things I could call my own and take care of. Besides, it was such a small addition to our growing menagerie.

For a week we tried different names to see if they fit. Mr. Grumpy Pants, Grumpaloo, Hammy, Tom, Bacon... nothing seemed to stick. Nevermind, interest in our newest family member didn't last very long anyway.

First it bit D. I tried to explain that the hamster was soooo tiny that it was probably just frightened. Yeah, the kid didn't care about that bit of logic.

Then it would run in it's wheel in the middle of the night. D would come into our room with sleep in his eyes, woken up by the noise. "He can't help it. Hamsters are nocturnal. He just wants to play." I'd explain.

Soon after he was moved into the guest room where he would 'play' with the ball in his water bottle waking up the whole house.

And so that hamster was moved into my studio where he has been watered and fed and otherwise completely ignored.

Until now...

Over Christmas a little visitor came into my studio and asked lots of questions about 'the hamster'. I explained that he lived in my studio, away from everyone and was pretty much ignored because he was a bit of a jerk. Later, I felt badly about calling the little thing a jerk. I mean none of that was his fault. So I made up my mind to make nice with the little fellow.

"Maybe you should see if someone else wants him." Mr. Pixie said out of the blue.

"No! We took him. We'll take care of him. I've decided to rename him Beatrice and that we're going to become great friends." I replied. Mr Pixie shook his head.

And so I've been giving Beatrice extra treats and speaking with her while I do my crafting. Tonight I cleaned out her habitat, rearranged her tunnels, arranged everything extra nice and even put in a shiny new food dish. When I was done, Beatrice ran around like crazy and Mr. Pixie put on a squeaky voice saying "What have you done with my space woman?! You f'n changed it it all!" I hate to say it but it really seemed like that was exactly what the furry little thing was saying.

Here's a photo of wee 'Beatrice' with a fat slice of apple, in a sparkling clean cage.

Ummm, perhaps more of a Bellatrix than a Beatrice?

*Sigh*  If I'm honest he looks more like Voldmort and I'm pretty certain that my plan is destined to fail because he is in fact a bit of a jerk after all.

Ah well, if we can't be chums at least I can keep him warm and fed and out of trouble.

A little more love...

I really need to focus on "work" stuff but my heartstrings get tugged and I'm pulled every which way!

Last week one of the members of the Art Abandonment FB group posted a link to an organization called Inspiration Through Art. I immediately fell in love and dropped everything I was doing to participate in their Valentine Card Drive.

So I grabbed the Alpha Stamps Bathing Beauties #3 Collage Sheet, created a little fairy scene, and printed out a bunch-o-cards to send to those gorgeous kidlets.

Sometimes it really doesn't take much to make a big difference. So get to makin' and send a kid a card would ya! Go HERE for the Valentine Information or visit the FB page.

SMOOCH!