A whole village (& a swamp too)

I'm swamped. I secretly love being busy so you shouldn't feel badly for me in the least. Things might be pretty quiet around here over the next couple of weeks. Don't worry about the silence, it's just me chipping away at my day job.

I managed to make a wee village from the teeny weeny houses I created. It hasn't reached it's destination yet but I think it's safe to share.

There's a little pond

Farms with petals, flower buds and seed pods.

Unfortunately the 'arch' snapped while I was packing it for shipping *insert sad sigh* so the new owner will get the wee village without it's topper. Ah well, I was afraid it would break during shipping so I'm glad I could remove all evidence before it went on it's way.

A Fairy Godmother for Paige

Babies are popping out all over the place! My cousin-in-law just had a little girl named Paige. I've made a fairy godmother for the little one, wand and all, to keep all sorts of good wishes in safe keeping.

She's got a hoity paper crown on top of her lambs wool hair, and she's keeping a close eye on that felted bee to make sure he doesn't fly into anyone's bonnet.

The ragged skirt is kind of special. It contains scraps of fabric from the baby's great-grandmother who passed away a few years ago. If anyone will look over that baby it'll be her "bisnonna" :)

There's all sorts of wishes and charms hidden in her skirt. A key to open every door, a treasure chest for secret wonders, a silvery house to make a home, a lucky coin, extra buttons... loads of things every little girl will need while growing up.

When things don't go as planned

*sigh* In my head there are loads of lovely things fluttering and floating about. My fingers are having none of it this week. They are refusing to co-operate! I was hoping for a lovely little town and on my first attempt, got instead, a sort of depressing village that looks as though it's about to suffer a very bad storm :P

Do you ever scrap something and just start over? I rarely do. Being a stubborn old mule I chip at it and work away until it all fits together. Not this time. This time I'll make a bigger and better village and I'll show these town folk who's boss!

No! It's not my kid... though he thinks so...

It's ME! Grrrrr.

Little Houses and Mess Making

As usual I've got a zillion things on the go and (also as usual) much of it can't be shown at the mo'. I do have a something I can let you peek at...

A whole village of faerie houses!

What's that? These aren't quite as pretty or nearly as detailed as the others? Well that's true but there's a reason for that. They are just a little smaller than the original faerie houses I made.

Just how small are they?

Absolutely teeny weeny!

The tiny houses are actually part of a bigger project so check back soon to see what's happened to the little things :P

I'm starting a weekly thing over at the Pixie Hill blog called "Make a Mess Monday". It'll be all about the creative process, developing ideas, and making stuff. This week I talk about words and have a page of them that you can use in your making. Check it out here.

Making of Faerie Spying Stones

Here's the little bit I wrote for Danni over at the Whimsical Cottage. Hop on over there to see all the faerie goodness :)

~ The Making of Faerie Spying Stones
Faeries are a sly bunch. They are quick as a wink and well camouflaged to boot. It’s difficult to get a good look at the wee things. I often catch a fleeting glance of them while I hang my laundry on the line. While daydreaming they dance in my peripheral vision.

There are a number of ways to get a good look at the wee folk. One of those ways is by looking through a Faerie Stone (also called a hag stone, witch stone, holy stone, holed stone).

It is said that a true and proper Faerie Stone is a natural stone in which a hole has been formed by the elements. The stones should be found by the user, not purchased, gifted or traded for their true magical potential to be realized. But there’s a great deal of power in your thoughts and the energy of making. I say you might just be able to catch a glimpse if you create your own.

In Raven Grimassi’s book “Hereditary Witchcraft” he gives instructions on making a sort of Faerie Stone called a Faerie Sight Stone. Flowers, leaves and pollen are added to clay, a holed disk is made, and when ready, it is painted black with four white lines. “Legend says that Fairies can be sighted by looking through such a disc.”

Make your own version of a Faerie Sight Stone by adding faerie flowers, good intentions and charms to your own hand made holed stone. Wear it around your neck on a length of ribbon or hang it by your front door so that it’s always on hand for peeking at the fae.

Especially good times to try and spy faeries through your stones are: noon and midnight, mid-summers night, twilight hours, May Day, Halloween. Some say that you need to walk backwards and recite a specific chant too!
For specific instructions on how to make these, you can skip over to to this page at Pixie Hill.

** Please remember the spirit in which these are made. Sharing with friends, giving as gifts, making as a group project, leaving for strangers to find is absolutely encouraged. Selling them is not so nice and may just irk the faerie folk into pinching you in your sleep and tripping you up as you walk along. Don't say I didn't warn you ;)

A peek inside my cupboard

I managed to clean out my witchy cupboard today. I thought you might like a peek inside...

The top level has some nice chunky pillar candles (although I prefer glass prayer or dinner candles), assorted glass bottles, my oils and magical powders and blends, almond oil, candle holders, a mini cast iron cauldron, matches, charcoal bricks (which I buy by the case!) and hiding in the back is a coffee grinder I use to make incense.

The next shelf has a bunch of and spices.

Many of those baby good jars are from when my kiddo was just a wee little baby!

All of my essential oils are in that black case. It's best to keep them in the dark. That red and white container at the back has all my four leaf clovers in it, those funky tongs are for picking up hot coals and the basket is jammed full of resins for incense as well as things I've picked up along the way... bat's head seed pod, bluing balls, snake skin... all sorts of cool things that will prove useful one day ;)

On the left hand side of this shelf houses the things I really don't want to mingle with my herbs or oils. There's black poppet filling, grave dust, sulphur... the "just in case" things. The other side is just packaging. Little plastic zipper bags, glass vials,  candle wicks... the boring stuff really :)

And that's it! Most of my witchery is out in the open, here and there, all about my house but I thought you might like a peek inside ;)

Made-up holidays and a giant black tick

The Knickertwist family headed up to Ottawa this past weekend to celebrate Canada's newest, and most questionable holiday, Family Day. We had a grand time on the Rideau Canal. If you're ever near Ottawa in the coldest of months check to see if the canal is open for skaters, it's a real treat.

Here's me bundled up against the cold looking like a giant black tick :P Unfortunately my bum foot prevented me from skating along with the kidlet and husband. Instead I hobbled pathetically along the edge of the ice trying not to fall and break my foot... again. Ah, well, there's always next year.

My Pixie Hill experiment isn't quite done but you can go for a peek at pixiehill.com. I'm hoping to add a bunch o' faerie themed mess making goodies over the next couple of months. Grand intentions... hmmm,  we'll see what comes of them ;)