Easy Breezy Fairy Garden with Petaloo

This sweet fairy garden is simple enough for children to take the lead and make creative decisions with just a little assistance.

For my base I've used the lid of a small kraft cardboard box. For the lawn I've cut a green dish scrubbing pad to fit and glued it into place. You can build your fairy garden on (or in) almost anything.

Next, I wrapped the sides of my box with Petaloo Fancy trims. Tip: use Score-tape or other double sided tape to speed things along and avoid the drying time of glue.

A short piece of Small White Picket Fence is added. You could make your own out of toothpicks, popcicle sticks or even twigs. I've applied it with hot glue... be very wary of little fingers near that sticky molten mess!

Now for the fun part. Adding the blooms!

Keep adding and layering Floradoodles and Velvet Hydrangeas. Scrunch them up, fold them, squish them into place! I also added some Petaloo Brads and Petaloo Floradoodles Velvet Butterflies to my little garden.

I included a tiny cottage which I stole from a wooden train set, but you don't need to include one at all (more room for flowers!). For the finishing touch I've put a stone path leading up to the door. To create the path I simply squirted a squiggle of white glue and sprinkled fine gravel over it. When dried I shook the excess loose. You could just as easily glue a path of pebbles or even a trail of sweets :)

And that's it! A simple little project that little hands can take big part in :) Be sure to hop over to the Petaloo blog for more great kid crafts.

Floradoodles
Velvet HydrangeasPetaloo Brads
Petaloo Floradoodles Velvet ButterfliesPetaloo Fancy trims
Small kraft box (or base of your choosing)Green scrubbing pad
Small White Picket Fence
Tiny house
Fine gravel

The truth, a mess and annoying footnotes.

I've blogged about this before, but I think it's worth a revisit since the question still arises fairly frequently.

"How do you find the time to do everything?"

The simple answer is, I don't.

If you broke into my house and had a stroll around you would find: dishes on the counter, piles of laundry in various locations, socks waiting to be paired near the fireplace, a shipping aftermath on 'the good' dining room table (see above), and many more messes dotted around the place. There is dust, spiderwebs and dustbunnies.

And I'm ok with that.

There are not enough hours in the day for me to accomplish all of the things I'd like to do. I have to make choices. Creating usually takes priority but some days, like today, laundry wins out. I don't do it all, not by a long shot! So long as you're happy with the choices you make and the priorities you set, it's all good.

You may remember I said I wanted to do some reading. Upon the recommendation of many (and due to the fact it happened to be sitting unread on my bookshelf) I started Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

I'm over 200 pages in and I just can't do it. The book sits on my mantle staring at me, the thought of picking it up makes me wince. I want to like it... everybody likes it!... but truthfully I find it terribly annoying. The footnotes do my head in. And so, sadly, I'm calling it a day on Good Omens. *sigh* Book one a total failure.

A spot of cleaning, then I'll hunt for a new title. Something completely clear of footnotes would do nicely.
 

Jewel Jars with Graphic 45 and Core'dinations

I created these jars as prizes for the annual fun fair at my son’s school. They call them Jewel Jars around here. Little jars packed with goodies of all sorts like candy, school supplies, and small toys.

Using Core'dinations Lemon Chiffon, Spring Green and Robin’s Egg in combination with Graphic 45’s Mother Goose collection I’ve spruced up some inexpensive plastic jars. I’ve gone easy on the embellishments, making them a quick fun project that will appeal to little prize winners at the school… but you could absolutely run with the concept and decorate to your hearts content!

I think these would make adorable shower prizes or party favours. By changing the papers you could match the theme of your event.

Supply list:

Humpty Dumpty
Twinkle Little Star

CheckersSpot On

Mother Goose 6x6 Patterns & Solids Pad

Mother Goose Flowers

Mother Goose Chipboard Die-cuts 1

Mother Goose Tags & Pockets

Core'dinations:
Lemon Chiffon
Spring Green
Robin’s Egg
Plastic Jars
Googly Eyes
May Arts Ribbon
Assorted Petaloo Darjeeling flowersLittle gifts and prizes for filling jars

Check out the Graphic 45 blog for some amazing projects by my fellow design team members :)

Dainty Lace Fairy Slippers

I created these delicate things during the summer solstice, or mid-summer night if you prefer. What better time to craft a pair of dainty fairy slippers!

The soles of these slippers is thick cotton canvas, providing a solid base to support the lacy tops. The uppers are created with White Venice Applique Lace with a heel of Ivory Embroidered Fabric Lace Trim.

I've used snippets from this Ivory Flower and Pearl Trim and Ivory Lace Trim with Multi Colored Sequins and finally finished the darlings off with leaves swiped from Tresors de Luxe's Shabby Chic Flower Embellishment.

I think any fashionable fairy would be pleased as punch to have such a pretty pair of slippers, but they'd also make a beautiful gift for a baby shower or even a 'just because' present for someone who believes in fairy magic.

Supply list:
White Venice Applique Lace  LA-134
Ivory Embroidered Fabric Lace Trim LA-092
Ivory Flower and Pearl Trim GL-150
Ivory Lace Trim with Multi Colored Sequins  LA-121

Shabby Chic Flower Embellishment FL-021

More cocooned pixie babies

While waiting for the glue to dry on the 1st year Hogwarts textbooks, I made another batch of cocooned pixies.

Someone mentioned that they might have a story behind them so here goes:

They were created as little moonish faces but they cried "No! We're too little to hang in the sky! We want to be snuggled tightly and have bright wooly hair that blows in the wind." I could not think of an argument not to comply... and so they got their wish.

All of the pixies in this post will be listed in the shop over the next day or so. I will link the individual listings from the photos as they become available.

 

A simple Petaloo crown

I love crafting with kids! They are a lot of fun to work with and sometimes they come up with the most brilliant ideas. Plus, in general, kids love glue as much as I do :)

For this sweet summer crown I've simply taken a length of wide Crochet Lace Fancy Trim and glued on loads of pretty bright Petaloo Floradoodles and Velvet Butterflies. (Tip: Work on top of a length of waxed paper to avoid sticking.) Once dried I secured the ends. Easy peasy!

You can speed things along with hot glue... just be careful of little fingers! (Pssst, if you're in a pickle you can always use a length of paper as the base instead.)

How much fun would this be to wear to garden party or summer picnic? I think I'll make another fit just for me :)

Supplies:
Crochet Lace Fancy Trim in Fuschia 1482-127
Petaloo Floradoodles Fabric and Glitter 50 piece Pack
Petaloo Floradoodles Velvet Butterflies

For even more fun kid projects, check out the Petaloo blog!

More cocooned babies

More cocooned fairies ready to head out to Impresario Artisan Market to find their new families.

As I mentioned in a previous post, they did start out as little moonish faces but then they said "No! We're too little to hang in the sky! We want to be snuggled tightly and have bright wooly hair that blows in the wind." I could not think of an argument not to comply... so they got their wish.

It's funny working on little things like this. Dressing them. Giving them personalities.

This blue haired one is quiet... but will grow to be a big pile of trouble. A mischief maker!

And this wee lass is lovely as can be but will raid the pantry of all it's jam and honey.