Pixie Postage & A Story in Nine Parts

Dearest Aunt Primrose,

Hope all is well with you and Uncle Thistle. We heard about uncles misadventure with the chipmunk last month when we bumped into Mrs. Merryroot at the market. We were all very concerned about him and made wishes for his rapid recovery. I do hope they worked!

We have some rather wonderful news to share. There has been a new arrival to our little mossy patch. Last Thursday a tiny winged girl arrived. We have named the wee thing ‘Oak’. Being that she is such a little thing at the moment, and the Oak is so very big and mighty, we have taken to calling her ‘Little Acorn’ until she can properly fit into her name.

Perhaps when the weather clears we can attempt a visit to the woods and introduce you to the little one. It has been far too long since we have seen each other.


Much love,
Cedar Nimblewill

The April challenge in the Art Abandonment group I belong to was to abandon a piece that included poetry in celebration of National Poetry Month. Although not exactly poetry, I figured some creative writing wasn't too far off the mark. Here are a series of nine miniature letters, each one telling a part of a little story. They'll be dropped here and there around Brighton over the next week or so.

 
The envelopes are handmade, the paper tea stained, and I even designed the little stamps to go on the envelopes to say "Pixie Post" and things of that sort.

The writing on each letter matches that on the envelope. Each character, or voice, being assigned his or her own typeface. The envelopes are all sealed with wax with a "P" seal.

Rather than bombard you with all of the notes at once, I'll share them over the coming week or so.

AND because I think that finding a little letter would be thrilling... AND because I think letter writing is pretty damned lovely... I'm going to install a mailbox or two at Pixie Hill. Visitors will be able to check for mail, and if they're very lucky, take home a souvenir! We'll install one at 'The Gates' too when the faeries visit my Brighton Arts Council friends this summer.

If you'd like to take part and send a letter (or two... or ten) to the Faerie Folk at Pixie Hill, you can send them to this address...

Nichola Battilana
attn: PH Impish Dept. of Customs
134 Bullis Rd
Brighton, ON K0K 1H0
Canada

A couple of things to keep in mind...

• You cannot actually post miniature mail. You'll have to pop your letter into a larger envelope for it to make it's way here.

• Because the recipient may be a child, I'm asking that you DO NOT seal your little letter. All material will need to go through the PH Impish Department of Customs before being placed.

• In return, I'd like to add you to my Christmas card list so be sure to include your return address :)

*SMOOCHES!*

Captured!

Looky what I captured! When I was cleaning last Sunday, I spied her trying to hide under the sink. After some coaxing (and many cake crumbs) we came to an agreement.

"You can stay as long as you like but you mustn't hide under the sink. You might get hurt! Instead, I'll make you a little nest of moss and pretty baubles."

She nodded in agreement. Living under the sink isn't any fun at all.

Want to make your own captured faerie specimen? My 'Winged Things' collage sheet is available exclusively through Alpha Stamps. Even better? Here is the entire list of supplies to make your own!

This weeks newsletter is jam packed with Imps, Monsters and Fairies. It's so bright and cheery and absolutely lovely.

World domination one step at a time.

Zippity-flipping-doo-dah! I made the first round of the Graphic 45 design team auditions!

I am absolutely giddy. Seriously. If you happen to be near the house today don't peek in the windows because I will very likely be breaking out into a song and dance. Although this is most definitely an expression of joy, my dance moves and singing have both been known to cause severe damage. Safety first!

Speaking of safety, my working studio is a disaster! While I do my computer design work in the downstairs studio, upstairs is my little working sanctuary. It's was such a complete hazard that I'm sure it would have required police tape in just a day or two. I spent some time last night revealing the floor and, believe it or not, this is the improved state...

Still shameful but I do know where everything is. It's a sort of messy organization. I can guarantee you that when it's spic and span I'll be unable to find a single pair of scissors.

Anyway, now that I've found the floor, I'm on a mission to see if there's a table under that heap in the middle. Wish me luck!

Fashion Shows and Spring Cleaning

This month, Alpha Stamps is offering up a package filled with items to celebrate French Fashion. Here's the wee papercrafted postcard I created with that theme in mind...

My favourites items? Foliage Bees Epoxy Stickers very cute. I'm sort of on a bee kick at the mo' so I'm all over these. I'm also smitten with these Bluebirds and Flowers Stickers. To be honest, I'm not much of a sticker person, but these are all sorts of sweet. AND the Ambrosia Marigold Scrapbook Paper is very pretty.

Speaking of fashion... Last week I cleaned out my drawers and closet and realized that I don't like very much that's in there. I don't think there's a single item that looks anything like the amazing clothes that I drool over on pinterest. My husband said "Well why do you buy the clothes you do?" To which I replied, "Because I buy what's cheap and fits (kinda)."

Anywho, I'm tired of it. I've got it in my head that within two years I will rid myself of the junk that is currently 'my wardrobe' and transform it into a pin-worthy wonderland. This may very well be a pipe dream and remain on my to-do list forever... but at this moment it's forefront in my mind.

What about you? Is fashion and style important to you? Do you dress for comfort? Do you manage to look good AND remain comfortable? Or do you not give a hoot and wear jamma pants to the Walmart? Inquiring minds want to know!

Snouty Interlude

I'm swamped. I've taken on some extra work, the house is an absolute disaster and I'm running about a week behind.

I'm so far behind that felt a twinge of guilt about going to bed early last night. There was a voice in the back of my mind nagging..."By golly, you really should be doing this or that instead of going to bed!" That lasted the entire thirty seconds it took for me to fall asleep. BUT I'm glad I ignored that voice because it was the best sleep ever with lovely dreams and a guest appearance by Paul Rudd ;)

Anyway, I'm playing catch up today. And, because I don't have a crafty good to show off, here's Padfoot's snout. My shedding, lazy, dim witted pooch... whom I love dearly and think is the most fantastic dog on the planet.

Bask in his lazy snouty glory!

Cheers! Salute! Sláinte!

I've been working like mad to get these cheeky things finished. 

Wine faeries!

They're a sort of paper craft, photographic, and digital hybrid.

There's one to represent pink and bubbly, ruby red and white wines and

then there's this fellow...

A clurichaun is a cousin of the leprechaun. He is ALWAYS male and ALWAYS drunk. Luckily for us, he's a happy drunk ;)

These aren't ready to ship out just yet, but I have sets listed in the etsy shop at special pre-order wholesale pricing until they're ready to go on April 8th. The listing is HERE.

Celebrations!

Two celebrations today. First James C. Wallace II is the winner of my little OZ giveaway. Congrats James! Woo Hoo! I'll contact you shortly.

Second (and this one is a biggy) my granny turns 80 today!

 She's allllll the way in England so I'm missing out on all of the celebrations but I've come up with a little something to mark the occasion...

And if you doubt a word of it...

Happy birthday Nanny Whit! We'll have a drink (or two) in honor of your birthday tonight. Heck, we'll even pull out the good stuff ;)