An Indoor Pixie House

When I saw these giant paper cones at Micheal's on sale for just $1.99 I snagged a slew of them because I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

So last night, when I very well should have been doing something else entirely, I made this...

The birch body of the house is a limb from a tree at the bottom of our hill that fell a short while ago. The piece is actually quite big, measuring almost 2 feet tall.

The tippy top of the roof is a deconstructed then somewhat reconstructed pine cone. I think it's really cute but man-o-man was working with that pine cone a pain in the bottom!

That's Pixie Hill moss on the roof, picked from the western lawn where the faeries troop and leave toadstool trails. That cute berry vine is the Mini Red Pip Berry Garland from Alpha Stamps.

And finally the wee door. My kidlet says the handle is too small but it'll have to do for this abode. Construction just finished! There's no way I'm doing renovations just already.

And there you have it! These will have to be faerie houses of the indoor variety because I am quite certain that the rain and squirrels would destroy this in about 10 seconds. That's fine and dandy because indoor faeries need homes too.

Sugar Plum Reception

The Saturday reception for my show at the gallery at Impresario is fast approaching and I can feel my anxiety rising. There promises to be mulled wine and nibbles so maybe I can muddle my way through.

If you happen to be near by I'd love for you to drop in and say 'hiya!'. I'll be the frumpy wreak with a glass of wine and befuddled expression on her face :P

Coffee Filter Roses - How to!

Last week I posted this photo of the coffee filter roses that are on one of my large mixed media canvas' pieces.

A few people asked for a tutorial... and because I loves ya I'm happy to oblige.

Fog, Tea and Fussy Cutting

This was the view all day today.

It's awfully slushy and foggy out there. All damp and dreary. A perfect day for too many cups of tea and a bit of paper crafting.

And so I spent the afternoon making ATC's, playing around with Graphic 45's newest collection: Sweet Sentiments. It's a fussy cutters dream :)

P.S. I'm mostly set up for my show Sugar Plum & Other Faeries... but there'll be a few finishing touches added on Thursday, just in time for the opening reception on Saturday the 7th. Hope you can make it!

Family Friendly Matchbox Town with Tutorial

Graphic 45 asked me to create a family friendly beginner project, so I came up with this super cute little matchbox town. I've kept little fingers in mind for this project so that everyone can play along.

My son loves to create with match boxes. Their size is comfortable for little hands. One of these little buildings can be created quickly, a whole village created in an afternoon. It’s also a great group project, each person contributing a little building of their own. 

I create regularly with children and know how innovative and imaginative they can be. Use this tutorial as a guideline. Be sure to give little helpers assistance but let them do what they do best - create! If you’re a bit of a fuss pot (like me!) offer up items from one collection and everything will match fine and dandy.

Here is the supply list: 

12 Days of Christmas: Golden Rings

12 Days of Christmas Banners

12 Days of Christmas Stickers

12 Days of Christmas Alphabet Stickers

12 Days of Christmas 6x6 Patterns & Solids Pad

**Also useful for this project:
12 Days of Christmas Set
12 Days of Christmas Chipboard Die-cuts 1,
12 Days of Christmas Chipboard Die-cuts 2

Standard size matchboxes (without matches!)

Tacky Glue

Scor Tape

Black ink marker/pen

Ink pad

Small Metal Brads

                                                                       Dresden Trims

1. Gather all of your materials! Here I’m using paper, tags, stickers and banners from the Twelve Days of Christmas collection. 

 2. Choose the back ground colour of your building and cut a strip of paper the same height as your matchbox (mine was 2.1”) then wrap the paper around the outside sleeve of the matchbox and affix it into place. It’s a good idea to make the paper wider for younger children, to give them some wiggle room, then trim away the excess.

3. Select a piece from the bunting sheet for the door, ink the edges if you like, then push a small brad through to create a door knob. I sketched three small windows and cut them out, as well as three small rectangles for window sills. **If you are working with very small children you might consider preparing windows ahead of time so that they can focus on assembly.

 4. Glue the door and windows into place. I like to ink all of the edges. I think it makes the pieces ‘pop’ and adds to the sketchy charm of the pieces.

 

5. Add finishing touches like Dresden trims and stickers.

For variation stack boxes together, creating fatter buildings with bundles of two or more boxes. One lonely building isn’t very impressive so make a whole holiday village perfect for imaginative holiday play or hiding little sweets and charms inside.

Hop over to the Graphic 45 blog for more photos of this project and LOADS of other beautiful papery eye-candy.

Grommet Holes

So let's say you don't have a large hole punch and you're not eager to purchase one. How do you work with the metal grommet hole on the Graphic 45 tags?

I'm sure there are loads of ways of dealing with them, but here is my technique.

Using the tag as a template I cut out my paper. This happens to be Turtle Doves from the 12 Days of Christmas collection.

Lining up my cutout with the tag, I press around the grommet hole to slightly emboss the area.

Holding the paper in place I take some sandpaper and lightly sand around the raised area. (Note: I just grabbed what was on hand to demonstrate, this sandpaper is very coarse so it's a bit scratchy).

Using that area as a guide, I cut a hole in my paper.

Now I affix the paper to the tag. I like to use rubber cement or tacky glue. The moisture of these adhesives gives the paper a tiny bit of 'give' which allows the paper to stretch slightly, so I can press the paper firmly into place. I run my nail around the edge to give a nice tight fit around the raised metal grommet.

When the adhesive is dry I run a blade around the edge of the grommet. NOTE: If your paper is wet or damp from the glue it is more likely to tear rather than cut.

Now I carefully cut away the excess paper.

And there you have a perfectly cut grommet hole!

For the back of the tag where the grommet is flatter, I sometimes just sand away the excess paper. Because I'm using very coarse sandpaper for this demo it's really scratchy! If you use a finer grit and some care, the results won't be nearly as messy.

Because I usually ink or grunge up my edges I actually don't mind if the reverse isn't absolutely perfect. A bit of paint or stain will camouflage those edges, and with a ribbon in place no one will even notice ;)

Hope that helps. Happy mess making!

Sugar Plum

Cutting it VERY close, I've finished the final piece for my December show. Well, almost done, she might get a little extra somethin' somethin' today. ANYWAY here is my Sugar Plum Faerie.

She is not plum coloured but she is very sweet and sparkly. Here are a few of her details...

The canvas has been covered with vintage hymnal sheets. There are three painted birds on the piece: a European robin, a chickadee and a Junco. All are lovely little birds that remind me of winter.

There are several pinkish paper roses on the piece which I made from coffee filters.

Seven glittering stars dot hold up a gauze swag. The stars are corrugated cardboard. You can see here that 'frame' is created using scrapbook paper (mostly Graphic 45).

At the faeries feet there are some red spotted toadstools. There were made from an old book cover and scarps of canvas.

You can't really tell from the photos but the piece is quite glittery. I think it's a lot of fun and very sweet. It's also HUGE and the biggest piece I've ever done! Take a gander at the size of this gal...

That's 3' x 4' of Sugar Plum goodness.

If you happen to be near Cobourg tomorrow I'll be installing the show at Impresario in the evening. There's a VIP shopping event taking place downtown and there'll be lots to see and do if you're looking for something nice to do on a Friday night.

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! I hope your holidays are starting off just right, filled with loads of loveliness.