Moons and Magic Carpets

Two more moon shrines to take a gander at. These are the last two smaller drawers from the set that I've been using to create this series of boxes. My husband suggested that we go and buy another set but I said that the recycle/upcycle part of these makes them a little bit more special. He agreed.

I love how the red and white really pops against the darker sky in this one. Go to the etsy listing for this item.

And this one is just so cheery and sweet. I especially like the ladybugs that are escaping into the real world. We have ladybugs all over our old house. They are everywhere! They crawl all over the windows, the tables, on the rim of my wine glass, the sink... I know they're a pest but seeing them around makes me happy.

I also like the little paper butterfly perched on a tiny pinecone. I've got a butterfly project on the brain so I just had to try to stick one in here somewhere. Go to the etsy listing for this item.

 

Last, but certainly not least... I bought a magic carpet! I've always wanted an old rug like this and when I saw this one for a song I jumped at the chance to bring it home.

The kidlet has already tried it out and said that he had some trouble getting it off the ground. No worries,  we've got all summer to weave some magic into that old rug.

Going, going... sold for $5!

It was a busy morning today. Mr Pixie went to an auction while I went to the local Y with the kidlet for swimming and cookery classes.

There were a number sweet things at the auction but the bids were high. The Mr did pick up a few nifty things, including this cool old box.

It's made from an old Camel cigarette crate. I think the hubby paid $5 for it. When the kiddo saw he immediately laid claim to it. "I'm going to fix it up and paint it!" I hid my cringing well (I wanted that box!) and told the kid he could have at it. First things first... let's clean it out!

 

Inside were loads of old treasures. Rusty furniture wheels, an old school bubble wand, a belt buckle, buttons, a perpetual calendar.

An old clip on earring, rusty keys and a pile of corks.

 

Couple of old marbles.

A pile of 2's.

The thing was chocked full of great stuff for mess making so I don't feel so bad about letting the kid at the box now. :) Seems we've both made out pretty darn well for Paul's $5 investment.

Peep, peep, chirp, chirp!

There are 14 new friends in the studio today. 10 fuzzy yellow chicks and 4 fluffy yellow ducks. Paddy is beside himself. He's enthralled with the little peepers.

This will be our 3rd set of chicks. We raise them for eating. Sometimes people are horrified when they see those gorgeous fluffy birds and find out they'll be dinner in just a few months. You get past those tugs at the heart strings when they reach the stage where they act like horribly rude, bossy, greedy poop machines.

This is our first set of ducks and I wonder if the same thing will apply to them. They are far too cute for their own good and much more entertaining than the chicks. We've already named the ducklings too (very bad sign) Tank, Connie, Fifi and Doug. Too bad we can't tell any of them apart at the mo'.

But for now we'll just enjoy the bundles of fuzz and let them a have cozy life under the heat lamps for a wee while :)

Feel Good Freebie

My worktable is covered in 'to-do' projects. I had planned on staying up late to get things done last night but... well... I fell asleep at 9:30 instead. I'm sure they'll still be waiting when I finally do get around to finishing them up. I'd better get cracking because I've got a show or two lined up and I'll need goodies to take with me!

Being sick for almost a week has left my house amazingly messy. The laundry piles are so high that I'm afraid to scale them for fear the altitude will affect my balance and I'll fall over, potentially giving myself a concussion. But the sun is shining and I can't get enough of that air dried laundry scent so I'm going in.

While I tackle the house work why don't you make something nice? The world needs more nice afterall.

So do me a favour, download this pdf collage sheet and make something sweet. Say something nice and spread some joy. If you're super awesome (and I know you are) you'll post your creation on your own blog, and come back and tell me all about the fun you had while I was doing laundry all day long.

Do me proud, fellow mess makers!
xoxo

Love

I read this post today I stuns me that the lesson I learned at 15, avoids so many grown ass people today.

When I was young and dumb (I mean really young and really dumb) the thought of having gay friends sort of freaked me out. I mean, there was simply no way that I could be friends with a lesbian. Can you imagine?! It would be weird. I'd be totally uncomfortable. Ewww! Ick! Blah!

Then my best friend came out to me.

Actually, my best friend was so terrified that she had another friend tell me.

My reaction? "Where the hell is she? We're going for coffee."

In that instant I saw with full clarity it didn't matter. Not a speck! I felt like absolute crap because I realized that her sexual orientation (or anyone else's for that matter) had absolutely nothing to do with my love for her. I loved her because she made me laugh, she was kind, she was nice, and she put up with me... nothing else mattered.

Our job, no matter what faith we follow, is to show kindness to others, and to love one another... that's it. If you're worried God doesn't like what someone else is doing, or how someone else is living their life, I'm pretty sure he/she/they will deal with it.

So I'll sign off by saying that no matter who you are, I love you. I really do. No matter what, you're pretty damned nifty in my book. I hope you'll pass a little bit of love on to someone else too, because sometimes just a little bit of extra love can make all the difference in the world.

xoxo

Recovering and Renovating

I let my guard down for one moment, one tiny instant, and the germs attacked. As soon as I got caught up and breathed a sigh of relief they pounced. I've been sick as a dog for almost a week. I was a terrible hostess through Easter and can only assume I made it through the holiday with the boatload of drugs and smelly home remedies I took.

BUT I'm feeling better now. Hurrah! So it's on to better thing and bigger messes.

In a previous post I mentioned a new-to-me doll house. I saw this baby on kijiji for $25 and jumped all over the listing despite it being 3 hours away. Thankfully it was close to my mum and she agreed to pick it up.

It's massive! The thing has to be about 2" wide... much larger than any of the other houses I've worked on.

This is the condition it arrived in. I haven't even given it a proper look over yet. There's a lot of work to be done, and I'll likely completely overhaul the gorgeous beast. I'm thinking this is going be a long term project, one that I can savour and put real treasures in. *girly giddy dance*

In the meantime I've got to get cracking on the goblin pub! The Brighton Art's Council is putting on a  spring craft show in May and I'd love to show it off... get cracking indeed!

We are but dust and shadow.

Before Christmas I was approached to paint a custom skateboard.

I agreed and that board sat in my to-do pile for eons while the gentleman who sent it to me waited patiently.

I finally got my act together and started on the board. About 80% of the way though I decided the design was terrible. I started over.

The gentleman still waited patiently.

And today, after ages and ages, the board is FINALLY done! Here she be....

The words are "Pulvis et umbra sumus" which is Latin for "We are but dust and shadow."

I'm pretty pleased with it and would love to see it when it's truly complete: stained, sealed and decked out with wheels and stuff. I really hope that nice fella likes it too after his wait which was FAR too long (poor guy).