The Fairy Garden

I've been quiet this week, cleaning, clearing and preparing the fairy garden. I didn't have one last year and this year I scaled back. I chose to keep things quiet this year and I'm glad of it. Sure, it means less money... but it's far more charming in a way, the magic is more intimate.

Here are some pics from today's very quiet fairy garden.

This bluejay perched on my sign first thing this morning and screeched to the feathered kingdom that there was free birdseed to be had.

And this fellow didn't care one bit that it is BIRD seed. 

There are berries abound, just ripening.

While gnomes don't have a reputation for being exceptionally bright ~ I think that placing your reading chair directly beside a berry bush for snacking is a brilliant idea.

The fairies from the fallen tree at the bottom of our hill have moved to a young tree close to the house. Hopefully they'll spruce the place up. (You have no idea how much I wish that was a spruce tree so that joke would be wildly punny.)

The foxglove decided to show today!

Some of those clovers have to be lucky!

The fairies dranks an enormous amount of tea today. I would expect nothing else.

A gossamer canopy kindly spun by a spider friend.

Tea and pastries next to the clover.

Just a few members of my gnome army were out playing in the garden today.

Sweet little bucket gardens.

Spirals, spirals everywhere.

Clay pot houses.

I'm sure someone is charging for this space under the deck.

BTW, if you ever need to distinguish between a troll and gnome camp, trolls always display their collection of stolen socks. If you have an abundance of odd socks... you probably have a troll infestation.

Finally, probably my favourite addition to the garden ever...

How much fun is this?!?! I can hardly stand it.

Big fat fairy wishes from this years little fairy garden.

An Incomplete Curiosity Composition Box

Ok, my project for gslcuts.com isn't finished but... But... BUT!!! I have a very good reason.

We've planned a little family getaway to Montreal next month and I've created this in preparation for my memories. I'll keep little mementos from our adventure and tuck them in this box when I return. I'm so excited!

I'll buy postcards. I'll keep tickets and receipts. Bottle caps and coasters will be placed in here too. Maybe a stone or a leaf or... or... or... the possibilities are endless! I'll keep my eyes peeled for a little tacky souvenir and add that to my curiosity box as well.

I've created embellishments for the box with layers from the Steampunk Shape Set and
Stackable Labels Shape Set. I have to toot my own horn and say I'm really digging that top element!

While I usually mix and match collections, I've stuck with Olde Curiosity Shoppe - Deluxe Collector's Edition from Graphic 45 for this piece. If you like quirky and cool and vintage it'll be right up your ally. If that ain't your cup-o-tea, by all means, make something that suits YOU.

Below is a list of all the bits you'll need and I've got a video walk through for pulling all those bits together. Here's hoping we all make some amazing memories to complete our curiosity composition boxes.

Supply List:
Composition Box - 25
Steampunk Shape Set
Stackable Labels Shape Set

Olde Curiosity Shoppe - Deluxe Collector's Edition
White glue
Ribbon
Acrylic paints (I am in LOVE with Golden Fluid Acrylic Paint Iridescent Copper)
Small brass brads

Graphic 45 Fairie Dust ATC Tags

Asked to create a self portrait project for Graphic45 my mind raced. Should I upcycle some cool old dodad? Make a steampunky something or other?! Create a super cool Sherlocian whatchamacallit with Master Detective?!?! I was a mess of ideas!

I took a deep breath, refocused, and realized the exact right thing to do was play with the fairies.

My #G45selfie includes three things I like best... ATC's, fussy cutting, and fairy folk.

As a friend of the fairies, I'm all sorts of in love with Fairie Dust. It's so cheery and colourful. I've also added butterflies from Olde Curiosity Shoppe to my project, they just seem to go hand in hand.

I love working in ATC size. If I'm feeling stuck, or need to kick my creative mojo in the pants, creating in ATC size is undaunting (is that a word?) It's a non-stressful size, but big enough to be creative.

I also love fussy cutting. I do it while watching tv, collecting those tiny snips as I cut away. My best fussy cutting tips? Use super sharp scissors and cut more than you think you'll ever use.

Toss all those elements together and you've got yourself a cute-as-can-be set of Fairie Dust ATC's. I’ve created a video to show you exactly how I created these cute little tags. (https://youtu.be/uGxSF14HY4o)

So grab some sharp little scissors, some Fairie Dust, and make some magical little tags with me.”

Graphic 45 Supplies:

Graphic 45 - Fairie Dust Collection - 8 x 8 Paper Pad

Graphic 45 Fairie Dust 12x12 Collection Pack

• Moonlit Blooms

• Tiny Toadstools

• Magic Wishes

• Stickers

Graphic 45 - Olde Curiosity Shoppe

• Parlor Wall

• Butterfly Specifics

Graphic 45 - Decades Dye Inkpads

Graphic 45 - Artist Trading Tags-Ivory

Graphic 45 - Staples - Large Tag, ATC Tag and Flower Dies

Other Supplies:

• glue

• ribbon

• foam squares

A Hufflepuff Box

I am a Hufflepuff. For a long while I fought against it, but I have come to embrace my house. What's not to love about loyalty, a dedicated work ethic and strong moral code?!

Now whenever I see yellow I think "HUFFLEPUFF!" and set to celebrating my house with pride.

The yellow window on the Stained Glass Windows Collage Sheet reminded me of something that might be in the Hufflepuff common room so that's where I drew my inspiration.

Inside, a Hufflepuff garden full of yellow Curly Paper Roses. There are  Mini Fern Garland leaves, Tiny Paper Roses and Miniature Creeping Vine Garland too.

But enough showing off! Here's how I made this sweet little Hufflepuff Box.

1. Assemble the inside drawer of the Matchbox for Conservatory Book. Use the arched frame element from the Mini Conservatory Accordion Book as a template and cut the arched shape from the drawer. NOTE: leave a bit of a border when you cut, you will need the edge to glue the frame in place later.

2. Cover the inside and exterior of the box with cobblestone paper from the Wandering Ivy 12" pad

3. Paint the arched elements cut from the Mini Conservatory Accordion Book. Cut the yellow window from the Stained Glass Windows Collage Sheet and glue to the back side of one of the frames.

4. Glue that to the inside of the drawer.

5. Glue the second frame to the exterior.

6. Add Sheet Moss, Curly Paper Roses, Mini Fern Garland and Miniature Creeping Vine Garland to the interior.

7. Cut butterflies from the Wandering Ivy 12" pad and colour with felt tip markers.

8. Download a public domain badger image and add it, along with the prepared butterflies to the interior.

9. Cover outside sleeve of the matchbox with paper from the Wandering Ivy 12" pad. I am NOT gluing the end in place. This piece will wrap around the inside drawer, not slide over it.

10. Cover the exterior.

11. Glue 2 lengths of ribbon to the outside cover and add some pretty buttons.

Add a couple of cute charms and tie closed! Easy as pie.

Are you a Hufflepuff? Or will you make a little something for your Ravenclaw heart? Gryffindor? Or something a little green perhaps?

Whatever your house, have take pride in it and make a little something to celebrate all the goodness it encompasses... yes, even you Slytherin!

Here's the supply list in case you missed anything above:

Matchbox for Conservatory Book
Mini Conservatory Accordion Book
Stained Glass Windows Collage Sheet
1 Inch Curly Paper Roses - Variegated Yellow
Wandering Ivy 12" pad
Pewter Wizard Hat Charm
Star Fairy Wand Charm - Silver
Sheet Moss
Mini Fern Garland
Miniature Creeping Vine Garland
Ribbon
Buttons

A Card for Baby Too

Although I'm not really a card maker here's another. (I'm on a roll)

I've used papers from the Precious Memories collection from Graphic 45

The "Baby" script is cut from a larger chipboard piece. Me thinks it's been in my stash for a while and it may no longer be available but I'm working on finding out for you.

The flowers are a mix of bits from my stash. The leaves and white flowers from Petaloo, the green/yellow spray snipped from a $store bunch, and the wee blooms in the corner are 1/2 Inch Pale Peach Paper Roses

Not my usual thing, but sometimes it's nice to play outside the box and dabble in other areas because you never ever know what you're going to fall in love with.

xo

A Card for Fathers Day

Phew! It has been a hectic week. The kid is playing soccer competitively and we've been driving EVERYWHERE. Funny how traveling sort of knocks you on your bum even though you sit through most of it. 

ANYWAY... I made Mr. a Father's Day card with Olde Curiosity Shoppe 

I kinda love how it's more designy and not all about sports and fishing and golf and beer... because not all dad's are into that. (Though Mr does enjoy a micro-brew once in a while.)

Inside I've tucked a little pic of Mr and the Kid. And a flying pig because why not.

And there's just a hint of gold dresden trim on there because apparently I can't make anything without adding something shiny.

I've got another jam packed weekend coming up. It's all soccer all the time right now. I need more crafty blogging time please!

Anyway, have a lovely weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the daddy-o's out there. High fives to you!

Floral Shoppe Mushroom House

Floral Shoppe was the the Graphic 45 collection I was most excited about playing with. They are beautiful and lush and elegant and I just cannot gush about them enough. They are absolutely gorgeous! So, of course, one of my first Graphic 45 projects as brand ambassador puts those floral pretties to good use!

I took a simple wooden greenhouse from the craft asile at the bargain store, and covered it with Midnight Medley along with a chipboard tag.

I've added some decorative hardware with a Metal Door Plate and Knob and some Stamped Metal Brads. I've also added some metal feet to the bottom of the box.

I know it's not over the top covered with loads of embellishments and decorative elements... but I love the elegance of this wee piece. I think the paper just sings for itself.

What's inside you ask? Well, I thought about keeping jewelry inside, but my favourite sort of elegance is the type that goes hand in hand with eccentricity. This little greenhouse would belong to an old biddy who grew magical toadstools in her spare time.

The interior is covered with Old Curiosity Shoppe, tags and and fussy cut butterflies.

Inside, a collection of clay mushrooms and toadstools!

Note: While I normally use Paperclay for my mushroom making, this time I used DAS Junior air dry clay. It was under $3 at Walmart and I thought 'what the heck'. It's very similar to polymer clay, but doesn't need to be baked. I find my hands too hot for most polymer clays (it melts and gets mushy in my hands) but this was really fun to work with. 

There's a little space in the middle which I am saving to add a real small potted plant.

For the curious, here's the before.

And my transformed pretty Floral Shoppe mushroom house.

Inspired? Here are all the bits I used in making this wee greenhouse.

Floral Shoppe
• Papers, Tags and Stickers

Old Curiosity Shoppe Deluxe Collectors Edition• Papers and Tags

 Graphic 45 Staples: Metal Door Plates and Knobs 

Graphic 45 Staples: Stamped Metal Brads

Small Wooden Greenhouse
Metal Feet
DAS Junior White Air Dry Clay
Sheet Moss
Faux Moss
Small Wooden "Clay" Pots
Acrylic Paint
Glue