A Mad Hatters Tea Party with Petaloo!

This summer I'm planning a Mad Hatter's Tea so Petaloo's "It's Your Birthday" Birthday Week provided the perfect excuse to start making fun accessories!

I've created several fun little Mad Hatter hats and a 'This way / That way' sign post.

To create the sign I embellished a small piece of dowling with washi tape, affixed the small arrows, and then placed it in an old teacup. There's a few cute little sticks and embellishments from doodlebug in there too :)

The base of the post is decorated with dried moss and pretty, sparkly, Velvet Hydrangeas... LOVE, love, love the Fuschia!

The hats are constructed of paper from the "Sugar Shoppe" paper collection from Doodlebug Designs.

The little pom-pom trims from Petaloo's Fancy Trims are absoluletly perfect for finishing off those edges!

And how much fun are those sparkly Glitz trims?!!

I am certain the Hatter himself would approve of a hat the colour of orange sherbet :)
I had such a great time creating these pieces. The "Sugar Shoppe" papers from Doodlebug Designs paired perfectly with the always outstanding and oh-so-fun products from Petaloo.

... AND if you'd like to make accessories for your own Mad Hatters Tea Party, I've created this template for the projects above. Happy making!

Supply List:
Botanica Blooms 1102 > Teal
Botanica Minis 1101 > Teal, Fuschia, Soft Yellow
Flora Doodles Velvet Hydrangeas 1296 > Cream, Fuschia
Assorted Fancy Trims 1910 > Shades of Teal, Shades of Pink
Fancy Trim Glitz 1912  > Fuschia
Crochet Lace Fancy Trim 1482 > Spice
Doodlebug "Sugar Shoppe" Papers, Sprinkles, stickers and washi Tape
Wooden dowling
Tea cup
Hot glue

AND you just might want to hop over to the Petaloo blog because they're having a great big fat giveaway to celebrate "It's Your Birthday" Week!

Petyr Baelish and a Magazine Spread

Two things that have absolutely nothing to do with one another today.

#1. My 221B Baker Street tin is featured in this months issue of  Dolls House and Miniature Scene magazine! How exciting is that? Thrilled to the gills to be in those pages along with so many other amazing projects and miniature art!

Check it out! There it is tucked in the bottom right corner of the cover! *faints dead away* Could not possibly be more excited. Here's the loverly layout...

#2. Ducklings!

Mr. Pixie bought an incubator a while ago and has been turning eggs twice a day for about a month. Yesterday this happened...

Babies! So far there are 5. Another is hatching as I type away. This fellow was the first to crack his way through...

I've dubbed him Petyr, Master of the Quack and Head of House Peep Peep! after Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones.

One of his very first schemes was to peep as loudy as possible last night, protesting the fact that he was all alone and needed a snuggle. Today he is much happier with his new brothers and sisters to keep him company.

 I'm waiting for one to come along and peep that his name is Jean Reno.

Leon's Window

Here's my completed mini in honor of Luc Besson's amazing film, Leon aka The Professional. It's dear Leon's apartment, with his best friend, the plant, hanging out on the ledge.

"It's my best friend. Always happy. No questions."

I've based the piece on the last apartment Leon and Mathilda live in. Here's a screen capture with a mighty handsome Jean Reno as Leon. That voice! Those eyes! The whiskers! **swoon!**

The piece measures 5" tall, a bit bigger than the tins. It was built upon a Graphic 45 Small Matchbook Box which are amazingly sturdy things. The brickwork is created with egg cartons, the sill is matchsticks and coffee stir sticks.

The box does slide open (carefully!) for access to the interior...

... and a better view of the Madonna, bullet marked walls and Farmland milk cartons.

I think one of my favourite things about the little box is the pull shade and actual window. The pull is a tiny White Pearl Stamen, the leaves from the potted plant are taken from this Yellow Flower Garland.

While making the tiny cartons I was looking for dummy text to fill it out. I started putting in quotes from the movie and ended up making this too...

A mini milk carton measuring around 6.25" tall. Cross my heart, I think that is possibly the coolest thing I have ever made. And that dear friends is your freebie!

It's covered in quotes and facts about the film. The nutrition facts is a list of the cast and crew. I'm not convinced that one or two of them are 100% accurate so there might be an edit or two over the next week but...

... you can download the PDF file here for your very own Leon milk carton.

I've made two Leon windows. The one posted here will be listed in my etsy shop tomorrow. The other is mine forever!!!!

Workin' workin' workin'

I've been a little obsessed with something old over the past week or so. The inspiration for this one might be a little obscure, but it's one of my all time favourite flicks. So, as I do when I am smitten, I've started making something. This time I'm using a Small Matchbook Box from Graphic 45 as my base. I do have two new tin designs that I'll be working on soon, but this is a 'quick' something for me (I'm actually making 2), for a bit of fun before I jump into those, more detailed, minis.

So... here are a few in progress pictures.

This was my 'dry run' with the milk carton. The final ones are about 3/4 of this size.

The Madonna and her bullet marked walls.

This is the interior pretty much complete.

I'm now working on the outside. The front facade has been bricked. Next the sides. Then grouting... then .... then ... then ...

To compliment the piece there will be a really REALLY cool free printable when it's posted. I am so excited about the freebie I can barely stand it. It makes me wiggle in my chair with excitement! If you're a big fan of the flick this piece is based on, I think you're going to loooovvvve it!

A place for St. Expedite

After breakfast has been rushed, the school lunch bagged, the dog sent to do his 'business' and the kid is shipped off to school, the house becomes quiet. I begin most mornings leaving fresh offerings, giving thanks and lighting incense for those spirits I am drawn to.

I often talk about St. Expedite. He has his own little page on my website. There's good reason for that, he's never let me down when I really needed help. Until now, my offerings of thanks have been placed on the counter. I wanted to create a special niche for him, away from the bustle of the house. And so I came up with this...

A little tin and glass lantern atop a large painted spindle. I'm hoping it patinas well. I've helped with the aging process by distressing the paint a little bit :P

Inside is just the right size for a small glass of beer and slice of cake, or some other token of thanks for saving my butt one more time :) Perhaps I'll find a small figure to place inside too.

A new camera for me...

I bought myself a mother's day present this year. (Cheeky!) A new camera. Because I am thrifty (read: cheap) I spent $120 on the floor model, then haggled $20 off because the lens cap didn't fit. One hundred dollars for a new snapper? Just call me moneybags.

I'm still getting used to the thing but there are things that I do not like about it... because it's bigger it casts a large shadow when trying to get close to my subject, it's heavier, the USB cord is too short, it doesn't focus where I want it to... BUT ....

... now I can take pictures of bumble-bees mooning me

Or get a snap of their shiny wings and fuzzy jackets while they are busy at work.

I can snap my dear Padfoot's mug and catch the crumbs and slobber on his sweet muzzle.

I shoot the moon in the night... or day!

I can take pics of feathered fellows without frightening them away.

Or shoot evidence of wild beasties from the safety of my kitchen window

And I can even take pictures of weeds that grow whiskers for whiskerless gnomes.

Perhaps it's ok afterall :)

Hope you're having a fabulous week! I miss you every day we don't chat xoxo

Clockless Moon Clock

I bought this broken clock/jewelry case a while ago...

I've had a kinda/sorta idea what I wanted to do with it but it's been sitting for ages waiting to be poked by a bit of inspiration. FINALLY, after much fussy and fiddling I've ended up with this...

I'm pretty pleased with the transformation but I can't help but feel it's missing one little something. What that something is, I have no idea but I'm sure that one night, months from now, as my head rests upon my pillow, just the right thing will shake me awake :)

The moon is rather pleased where he sits... so I know he's not the problem.

For now, I'll take my cue from him and rest, be still...

... loads of lovely things are born of rest and stillness and trusting just the right things will come along eventually.

Materials:
Old jewelry box/clock
Alpha Stamps May "Springtime in Paris" Kit
Wood Mini Spools
Clock Keys
Mushrooms - Red
Cherry Blossom Garland
Pink Rose Garland*
Violet Cherry Blossom Garland*
Moss
Star sequins
Blue glitter
Handmade Paperclay moon
Pawns
Tin Tart Mold
Pyramid brads
Watch hands