Pixie Hill

Friday, September 26, 2014

A spooky little something with Petaloo

Autumn has arrived. The leaves are just starting to turn, the evenings are getting cooler, and while these things may turn the thoughts of many to sweaters and apple cider... my mind races with witches and pumpkins!

Halloween is a big deal in my household. I gladly jump at any opportunity to make something for that holiday. Any chance to add more Halloween to my decor! So I present this little piece of hanging Halloween.

The base of this little round shrine is a round cardboard lid. I've wrapped the exterior with some black Crochet Lace Trim then embellished with a combination of black Burlap Blossoms, Textured MiniBlossoms, MixedTextured Layers and lavender Botanica Blooms.

A spider ring crawling through the pretty blooms, and plastic toy bones, add a good dose of creepy. I've also added a vintage image and a spooky sentiment clipped from the pages of a terrible book. And aren't those little pumpkins amazing? They're actually seed pods!

Here's my supply list, but don't let it limit you! I think those black and purple blooms are just about the most perfect Halloween combination, but orange and white would also make for some spooktacular festive decor.

Crochet Lace Fancy Trim Black SKU: 1482-148 Burlap Blossoms Black SKU: 1200-209
MixedTextured MiniBlossoms Black SKU: 1263-209
MixedTextured Layers Black SKU: 1257-209
Botanica Blooms Lav/Purple SKU: 1102-107
Cardboard lid
Black acrylic paint
Glitter and star sequins
Vintage 'witch' image
Pumpkin pods
Jute
Toy spider, fence and skeleton

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Dear spooky ooky Poe

I woke up to this view. It's lovely. Quiet. Still. Magical. At the same time it's a little bit creepy and sort of spooky... but that's ok, creepy can be rather lovely too.

Take dear old Edgar. He's a creepy fellow, eerie tales and poems... at the same time, they tug at your heart and you can't help but like the fellow.

This month Alpha Stamps has been celebrating Poe with an entire kit filled with crafty goods in honor of the dear author and all things horror.

My contribution was this frilly and fussy homage Poe, including a nod to his raven and his tell tale heart ;)

Want to create your own Poe masterpiece? Hop over to Alpha Stamps and check out the Poe themed kit on offer. AND if you're really itching to get your creep on, they're having a sale on their entire Halloween section!

For small pests

Did you know that small vampires have the sharpest teeth? It's true! They may not suck you dry but they will definitely leave a mark and you'll feel quite groggy afterwards.

I've created three wee vampire hunting kits in tiny coffins. Suitable for either very small hunters of vamps or hunting very small blood suckers.

They each measure approximately 6" x 3.25" x 1.5" tall. Inside you will find a brass stamped bat, a mirror, mallet and three wooden stakes, cross, a vial marked 'Holy Water" and a tiny 'Holy Bible'.

Please note: I am totally behind and these are the only ones that will be available this year.

Currently listed in the etsy shop:

Black lid / Purple interior

Orange lid / Orange interior

Green lid / Black interior

Monday, September 22, 2014

Sweet little things

I love little frames. Tiny spaces waiting to be filled with snips and scraps and small sentiments. I have quite the stash of them in my studio.

You'd think that their small size would mean a quick and easy project... and they can be... but more often than not, I pour over those little spaces just as long and laboriously as their larger cousins.

Here I've layered some sweet vintage images with fussy cut butterflies and flowers from Sweet Sentiments and Baby 2 Bride then added some nice words I've clipped from old books.

Two sweet little whimsical things to welcome fall magic.

Golden frame listed HERE

Silver frame listed HERE

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Lace Tea Cottages with Tresors de Luxe

These super cute cottages were created using Movers & Shapers House and Window dies with Graphic 45's Botanical Tea collection. They've been decorated with all sorts of snips of Tresors de Luxe lace and embellishments.

I often work on small scale projects, because of this every scrap becomes precious. Just a few tiny snippets of lace here and there are all that is needed to gussy up these tiny tea shops, but they add a big impact.

Don't be afraid to deconstruct and combine laces! I often cut elements from Tresors de Luxe laces and they hold up very well. If you are worried about those tiny snips fraying or unraveling, simply apply a bit of white glue to the cut edges to keep everything in place.

So be sure to save those little scraps, you never know when a tea sipping fairy will need some embellishment to her little cottage :)

Lace Trim in Ivory LA-107
Trim Pearl Beaded Alencon Trim LA-805
Lace Trim Venice Lace LA-137
Multi Colored Chiffon Flowers FL-181
Rustic Green Shabby Chic Flower Embellishment FL-099
Lace Trim Beaded LA-005
Ivory Lace Trim with Multi Colored Sequins LA-121
Movers & Shapers House and Window dies
Graphic 45's Botanical Tea collection including 6" Solids and Patterns Pad, Tags & Chipboard + more

Friday, September 19, 2014

Yarrr!

Ahoy matey! Tis the day I've been a-waitin' fer, International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Earlier this week I put out a challenge to all of the land lubbers out there to create something worthy of a sea faring buccaneer. The mighty Ms Kay showed that she is no scallywag and sent me pictures of this treasure...

Tis pretty enough to soothe the barnacles from a crusty poop deck.

It's never too late to jump into the craftin' crows nest, drink some rum and make a blasted mess so the PDF of piratey goodness is still available for download HERE.

Finally, for those beauties who requested a tutorial or template for the wee sailing vessels, hang on to your hornpipes and set your eyeballs on this moving picture show....

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Typography Sky Pirate Zeppelin

I’ve been meaning to expand my fleet of amazing flying machines so and when I created the template for my Old School Rocket, I knew this project was in my future.

The shape of the rocket body can easily double as a zeppelin. The addition of a paper boat, trims, chains, gears and propellers turns the rocket into a fabulous sky pirate vessel.

The images and colours of Typography lend themselves perfectly to steampunk projects so it was a natural choice. The ‘rope’ used to attach the boat to the zeppelin is a sturdy gardening wire that has a natural jute covering. Hot glued firmly into place, these ‘ropes’ keep everything exactly where it should be without causing too much stress to the paper.

Copper, brass and bronze accents are in keeping with the steampunk feel. A bit of metallic acrylic paint can transform chipboard with very little effort. Distress with an old ink pad and you can add years to those new ‘metal’ gears and cogs.

I added a couple of small light bulbs which should be easily available (I got mine from the grocery store!) and a snip of tea stained cheesecloth to the inside of the boat. Finally I glued an eye pin in the top so that my little vessel can hang proudly and fight off any lightning thieves.