Once upon a time under the sea...

Once upon a time a gentleman dove deep, deep, deep under the sea.

Where he met his true love.

Her frock covered all of her mermaiden parts so he did not know if she she had a swishy fishy tale beneath her skirts. And she refused to show him. She was a lady after all!

They married under the sea horse arch with glittery shells and baubles.

They stood beneath a lucky star fish.

They lived happily ever after and he never once revealed what was hidden beneath that frock!

Want to tell a tale of underwater love? Here's the list of bits lovely people!

Arched Shrine Shadowbox

Gold Dresden Shell Border Strips

Life In Color Discovery Scrapbook Paper

Orange Petals & Wood Planks Scrapbook Paper

Mini Steampunk Seahorse - Set of 2

Seashells in Plastic Tins

1mm Micro Beads - Clear AB*

1/2 Inch Bronze Starfish Charms

UPDATE: Such a response to my underwater lovers! 

The gentleman diver is actually William Walker. He was a deep sea diver who helped to save Winchester Cathedral from collapse. He went underwater to work on the foundation of the Cathedral for 6 years! You can read more about that story HERE. A quick search will turn up plenty of photos of him.

Our merlady is a bit more of a mystery. She is one of two ladies pictured in the 1870's tin type photograph below. I'm not sure of the original source of the image or who the lovely ladies are. If you stumble on the info, please let me know!

Full of Love Moon Shrine

A little sparkly moon shrine leapt off my work table last night.

This happy fellow is available in my etsy shop HERE.

Jewelry Box Before and After

I believe I spent a whopping $3.99 on this beauty.

I had thought to paint something magnificent on it. Sparrows, skulls, a Ouija board, something arty farty perhaps. But those scalloped edges just kept saying "nope!" to all my ideas.

But I like what happened. It's pretty and shabby and is a perfect match for my not-at-all-precious jewels.

The papers are all from this Architextures 8x8 Paper Pad. I did have to piece it together... but I think that kinds of adds to the vintage, shabby charm.



The hardware I just removed, slapped on a coat of white paint, and sloppily wiped when dry. The paint will continue to wear as I use the drawers, and that's a good thing!

Anyway, I'm glad to have somewhere pretty for my macaroni necklaces.

Hope you're dandy darlings!

A Wee Potting Bench

Hey look! A new project! You're shocked, I know,

I've been puttering with this gardening table/potting bench for a while and finally wrapped it up. It's cute, no?

There's loads of wee pots with sprouts...

Some toadstools growing below...

And birdhouses ready to hang in the garden. Can you spy the tiniest mouse ever?

It's just a sweet little project. A slice of miniature summer. (That 'soil' is spent coffee grounds and tealeaves btw.)

Here are some of the supplies I used in this piece.

Tiny Bird Box
Tiny Bird House
Workshop Table 1:12
Mini Gardening Hand Tools 

Or you can buy the wee thing I made HERE

More cheery bits

I'm still rotten.

I think I'm hovering around rock bottom at the moment. BUT this quote from JK Rowling has always struck a chord with me:

“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

And even though things seem to be a steaming pile of awful at the moment, I know I'll be fine.

ANYWAY, here are a few more cheery mixed media things for you to gander at. 

I hope you have a beautiful day.

I am a mess... here's some feel good tags!

I'm a mess. I swear I'm having some sort of perfect storm emotionally draining, creative block, midlife crisis, deep dark year. It's god damned exhausting! I'm thinking I need to go back to being a hermit.

This is what I feel like... a lovely catastrophe!

So many beautiful butterfly moments, but so much smiling through gritted teeth. I want smiling crows feet, not weary bags around my eyes.

But I've got to buck up, cheer up, get back on the saddle, right?

We all have our burdens, our complaints, our anxieties and faults.

I'm tired of mine. I want to dump them off somewhere. Maybe I will.

I'll burn my worries on a pyre! I'll grab a garden hose to wash away the ashes, then put my thumb over the end to make a fine mist, creating my own rainbow.

Edit: I'll probably just nap and eat cookies instead.

A Shrine for Saint Expeditus

I found this little saint figure of Saint Expeditus (a.k.a. St. Expedite, San Expedito) meant for a car dashboard, but I wanted to make a little shrine for him instead.



Saint Expeditus one of my favourite saints. I ask for his help all the time. He is especially helpful in money matters, bringing quick resolutions, and getting the job done. Just send out a heartfelt plea for his assistance and when he comes through be sure to repay him for his efforts.

My wee shrine to him uses the Gypsy Soul Arch Top Cabinet with Doors. It's the perfect size to house those little dash board/magnetic saint figures.

For a textural effect I added Art Deco Border & Corners to the headpiece and doors of the shrine.

I love my little shrine and I hope Saint Expeditus does too! 

For a comprehensive walk through for putting this piece together see HERE 

Here is everything you'll need:

Arch Top Cabinet with Doors
Art Deco Border & Corners

Gold Mini Rosette Dresden Borders*
Embellishments like Fancy Bronze Metal Drawer Pulls
Plaster (not necessary, but I like the 'old' texture it gives.
Acrylic paint
Paper
Moss
Faux foilage like: Fern Garland* and Tiny Paper Roses*

Tiny statuette!

Additional information about St. Expedite can be found at saintexpedite.org