A tin can planter

I made a tiny something for my kitchen window.

It's just a tin can gussied with paper and canvas ribbon and filled with moss and pretty flowers... but it looks nice, especially on a drizzly day.

I hope you've been behaving yourself. I miss you.

Stones and Small Sparks

I have a theory. 

I think that fairies start out as tiny sparks of energy and are sort of incubated within things like trees, seeds and rocks. They grow and form until they can no longer be contained and break free.

Every time I see a split rock I'm quite sure that another fairy has burst into the world.

There's something wonderful about those split rocks and the energy required to break them open.

There's a lot of them around here, those split rocks, and I wanted to do something to celebrate them.

I thought of painting an egg and a bird inside, or other things that fit together... but I decided to start with night and day. After all, that's how most creation stories begin.

And now... what? 

Perhaps I'll tie those pieces together with a length of golden thread and place it back out in the world.

Or maybe, just for a a little while, I'll keep night and day by my bedside as a reminder of the magic in small sparks of energy.

A shrunken head

I've had a really great couple days creatively speaking. I feel motivated and WANT to work. Last night I completed three... THREE... projects, including this dude.

He's been sitting around here for about 2 years waiting to be completed and last night I had my way with that bad boy!

I'm pretty pleased with him. I like the age he has. That crusty dusty look was achieved with baby powder atop of wet paint. It's looks great... like aged grime and dust. 

He's made from this sort of light and foamy air dry clay that I distinctly remember hating but can't for the life of me remember the name of. I must have blocked it from memory.

Just some terrible foam clay, string, jute twine, faux fur hair, paint and baby powder and you have yourself a shrunken head that only took a bazillion years to make.

Now, he needs a name... any suggestions?

Sparkly Foot Unicorns (or Getting Weird for a Good Cause)

Just look at these....

Sparkly footprint unicorns. Can you even stand the cuteness?

This is not my idea. It's a slightly grown-upper version of a kids craft. I figured I'm a big kid, plus this would be fun to do drunk AND sparkly unicorns!

After I posted my first attempt at these, I was asked if I might donate one to a charity auction. I'm not sure how much my feets will fetch, but I'm absolutely down with trying to raise a few extra pennies for The Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital. Because screw you cancer.

Anyway, they were a ton of fun to do and here's how to make your own...

Gather all your stuff. You'll need water, a towel and wash cloth, paper or canvas, acrylic paint, a brush, a pallet/dish, glue and glitter. Pink toenails help... I don't know why... they just do.

Rather than dip your foot in a tray of paint, it is much easier to paint the bottom of your foot. Water the paint down, apply, then step diagonally onto a piece of paper. 

Work quickly before the paint has time to dry. Also, remember to position your footprint so that there is room for the horn and mane.

This is really messy business, especially if you make this after a glass (or three) of something boozy. Consider your work area before you start, and remember that towel! You do not want to be hobbling through the house with a painty foot.

When your print has kinda sorta dried you can add the cascaded mane...

... and the horn too. I didn't get too picky here. I just sort of blocked those extra bits in.

It doesn't really matter which side of the foot the horn is added to, the pinky side or the big toe, but I think it looks especially cute when you use the big toe as an ear like below.

Once the mane and the horn are dry, add some black edges to give definition and detailing.

Then add glue and go nuts with the glitter.

For my charity unicorns I used canvas instead of paper. I also prepped the background with a wash of blue paint and added stars and hearts... because apparently unicorns and glitter just aren't enough.

That's it! Easy peasy. The auction will take place at a live event, but you can still donate to The Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital HERE.

Sparkle on weirdos!

Dapper Gents ATC's

 It's Dapper Gents month at Alpha Stamps and I've made a batch of suuuper simple ATC's

I really didn't fancy at all with these guys. Just Men Collage Sheet and Satisfying Text Collage Sheet images, paper from the Dapper Paper Pad, and mounted on a Chipboard ATC base.

Any other additions are just tiny scraps of dresden, washi tape and other little bobs.

They're really just very cute and super fast crafty something. Nothing too fussy going on here and they're swell nonetheless.

I've used these same collage sheets for some rather saucy versions which can be found HERE if you're not faint of heart.

But there's ain't nothin' wrong with the PG versions! They're a load of fun daddio!

Don't want to be a square? Here's all the bit's you'll need to make your own...

Men Collage Sheet
Satisfying Text Collage Sheet
Dapper Paper Pad
Chipboard ATC

Doodads, scraps and this and that

Or just scoop up the Dapper Gents Kit!

Spring Fairy Altoid Tin with Tutorial

It's spring and my blasse mood is giving way to fairy dreams as the weather warms and the green shows through the grass. Swoon!

This month I'm going to show you how to create this pretty little altered Altoid tin with a sweet surprise inside.

On the outside I'm using an elmement from the Altoids Inserts Fairy Tale Frames,
Art Deco Corner Set and Faux Metal Number Plate.

I've used paper from Lemoncraft, but you could use any paper you love and make this project entirely suited to your own tastes.

Inside, I've used more elements from the Altoids Inserts Fairy Tale Frames. Behind the frame I've layered elements and images to give a dimentional effect.

This project is pretty dang cute and fairly easy to recreate, but I've made a demonstration video with some pointers that you might find useful.

Ready to make your own? Here's all the baubles and doodads you'll need:

Altoids Inserts Fairy Tale Frames
Art Deco Corner Set
Faux Metal Number Plates 1 to 25
Blank Altoids TinsScrapbook Paper (I've used Lemoncraft's Forget-me-not)
Foam squares
Glue
Gesso
Acrylic Paint
Glitter
Embellishments!

Human Bone Earrings

A little while ago we took a drive to the big city and stopped in SkullStore, a shop that sells all manner of bones, taxidermy, and other nifty things. I picked up some foot bones and a devil pod/bat nut. 

I knew I wanted to make something wearable with the bones and came up with this pair of earrings.

A number of people have asked "WHY?!" I'll admit, it seems a bit weird on the surface, but it's not just for shock. I do have actual reasons for bony jewelry:

• I like bones and the strength and frailty they represent.

• Some believe that human bones help connect us, magically, to those on the other side.
• Primitive materials are beautiful
• I've been exploring foot fetishism
• I have extra bones in my feet!

I toyed with adding lots of different things to these bad boys, but I like that they embrace the primitive. The dark red circle you see is wax embedded with magical herbs, powders and oils. The wax reinforces the idea of being strong, but delicate simultaneously. It's solid though pliable, and easily scratched.

They might not be everyone's cup-o-tea, but I love them. 

Wearing them today made me feel a smidge more powerful... and maybe little like Pebbles Flintstone.