Lest we forget

Thank you.

It's a sickness

I dropped off a fresh bundle of goodies over at Impresario Market today.

Cobourg is a great town with LOADS of neat shops. The thrift stores are pretty darned great too.  These little bottles of pearly things? Ten cents each. TEN CENTS!

The other thing I picked up....

... another house. Honestly, I couldn't help myself. I mean, look at it! It is in dire need of my lovin'

I really have to try and restrain myself now though because I've got several of the things vying for my attention and I'm running out of room!

Dainty Fairy Crowns

I spied this trim and immediately knew it was destined for greatness. I ordered a fair bit and turned it into wee crowns, fit for Faerie Queens and other wee royals.

Just how tiny are they?

Pretty darned tiny!

Gnome Hats, Camo, and Paganism

First the crafty then the nitty gritty...

I've made a slew of these little gnome hats from some juicy red felt with sweet white stitching. How cute are they? I just might wrap one up and place it beneath the tree for our house elf ;)

Now, an update on the Halloween Costume vs Black and Orange uproar. A few people have asked if D wore a costume to school on Halloween. He did BUT he looked very much like he does every other day. In the end he decided to go as a zombie hunter, wearing camo, a zombie response tee and an orange hunting vest. No one was the wiser, he wore orange, and he was happy. Win!

Last night we decided to pop into the latest parent council meeting to see what's what and let them know how we felt about that issue. Apparently we weren't the only parents upset by the costume decision as it was already on the agenda. There certainly wasn't a resolution on the issue but I hope that next year they'll re-consider. I have a hard time believing that a better solution, an alternative that is actually inclusive, considering the feelings of everyone, not just the few, could not be found.

At the meeting, I mentioned that we are Pagan. The principal came over after the meeting and asked what 'Pagan' means. It's sort of a complicated question to answer because really, it's just an umbrella term that includes an awful lot of different things. I told her that I identify as a witch but I am not Wiccan. We celebrate the solstices and equinoxes, the changing of the seasons. We look to the old ways. I explained that we live our lives to be as Christian-like as possible, to be kind, to be good and helpful, but we do not adhere to other beliefs of that path. I often find myself completely stumped answering that question.

I've known people from many faiths and those that believe in no greater power at all. There's good and bad in each. In the end, the very best people are those who strive to be happy, gentle and good, who live with a sense of humour and focus on the betterment of their own lives rather than the faults they perceive in others. You? Well, I'm fairly certain you're one of the nicest of the bunch... no matter what your path :)

xoxo

SNOWBALLS!

It's definitely coming... dreamy, white, glittery snow! I can feel it in the air and I've seen a flake here and there. I'm quite certain Jack Frost is on his way.

Winter at the Pixie house = loads of lovely things. Sledding down the hill to the school bus stop, skating on the outdoor rink, gallons of hot chocolate and snowball fights. I am confident, given the number of times I've been whacked by snowballs, that they are indeed rather cheeky.

Here's a few pics of this years fresh batch of cheeky snowballs...

AND for the very first time, there's two available in the etsy shop. I've made two dozen of the wee things and most are already spoken. There will be a few more listed over the next while but there won't be many unless I haul ass and hit a time warp to make another batch :P

A long day

My husband is "RAWR!!!!ing" and my kiddo and his buddies are running around screaming in terror. In other words it's just your average night in the Pixie Hill house.

It's been a long day. Up at 7 for a long drive into Toronto. I do not miss highways and traffic and people who do not look happy.

While there, we stopped by ... (edited to remove unproductive complaining) ... the sort of thing that does not encourage a return visit.

On a positive note, on the way home we stopped by iThai in Whitby for lunch. The spring rolls were great, the service was nice and the lunch special was reasonable. Defo stop by again next time we pass by.

After the long drive, picking up things from the October art show, grocery shopping, mad dash cleaning and  now three crazy kids running around like maniacs, well, I'm beat as all heck and ready for bed. *YAWN*

Because I'm feeling so tired I'm offering two spirit boards that were in the October show for $95 including shipping (Can and cont. US) in the hopes I don't have to shoot and list them on etsy next week. They're hand painted on oak wine barrel lids and are pretty darned hefty.

If you're interested in either one, email info(at)pixiehill.com. These will likely be the only two spirit boards I have available for Christmas.

Mini Mixed Media Journals

I was lucky enough to be a member of the latest Master Craftster team, given the opportunity to try out a bunch of Elmer's products. One of the projects I created using the products I was sent were these little journals with prepared paper. No need to wait for backgrounds to dry, I can jump right in!

For this project I used the following materials...

• CraftBond Permanent Dot Runner
• Elmer's Painters - Neon
• X-ACTO Gripster Craft Knife
• X-ACTO Corner Rounder Punch
• X-ACTO Self-Healing Cutting Mat
• Pages from discarded old books
• Scrapbooking paper
• A stapler
• Paintbrush
• Water

I like to use old paper in my work. Old paper is quite different than modern paper. It generally has a higher cotton content, absorbs pigments better and is more durable. Sometimes old paper can be quite brittle, but often it can be crinkled, folded, squeezed with nary a tear. It's great fun to work with!

For this project I began by saturating an old page with some water.

I let the water absorb for a few moments and then started to dab the page with the Elmer's Painters acrylic paint markers.

I added more layers of paint and water.

Using a cloth I dabbed at the painted areas.  I also smudged, rubbed, squished, folded and even crumpled some pages.

I did a fair bit of experimenting with the Elmer's Painters. If you shake them up and down, they will not leak BUT by quickly and firmly flicking them I managed to get a bit of a splatter on the page. I also tried dipping the tips in water, then dabbing on the page, the paint bled and spread much more than when I simply applied directly to the page. I continued to work and experiment until the desired effect was achieved.

I'm pretty impatient so I like to iron my pages dry. Ironing any pages that you crumpled up has the added bonus of giving a nifty textured effect.

Next, I trimmed up my pages to the desired size using the X-ACTO Gripster Craft Knife and the Self-Healing Cutting Mat. When it comes to cutting straight clean lines, nothing beats a good sharp X-ACTO blade and steel ruler. Be sure to do your cutting on a self-healing mat. They're really useful and will save your work surface a lot of potential damage.

For these books I simply used a folded piece of thick, double-sided scrapbooking paper for the covers and stapled the edge.

To finish them off, I used the Corner Rounder Punch. I know it's a small thing but I think the rounded corners add a nice little touch. Finally, using the CraftBond Permanent Dot Runner I affixed a small mixed media twinchie and ATC to the covers.



Ta da! Now to pop them in my purse and start doodling!

You can hop over to the Elmer's board on craftster.org to see all the sponsored projects.
Here's the other projects I completed...

A Glittery Bulletin Board

Fairy Crown Napkin Rings

 

Peashooter Stocking Stuffers

Keith Haring Inspired Pegs