Paper Fairy Mini Tins

I've been plowing though old projects, half prepped things that have been sitting around waiting for me to get my act together. (Spoiler: my act will never be together.) These tins have been in my stash forever. Seriously. Years. And I've finally filled them.

I used the fairies from my Matchbox Fairy Download and added some Wee Transparent Wings. 

Inside I've tucked some moss, scatter and deconstructed flowers. As I've been on a serious butterfly kick, I've included a few Wee Assorted Butterflies too.

I could not find the tins I used listed BUT NEVER FEAR! You could just use the matchbox template that comes with the Matchbox Fairy Download or keep your eyes open for something similar. 

Two things to keep in mind when looking for little tins: 

• The plastic/glass in these sorts of things (especially if bought on the cheap!) often seems to haze or blur what is inside. Give it a test before buying if possible to make sure you'll have a clear view of the contents.

• Remember to consider the 'framed' area when creating your composition. When working so small even a thin boarder takes up a surprising amount of space. 

With all that said, here are the supplies I used for this project:

Small tins with plastic 'window'
Matchbox Fairy Download
Wee Transparent Wings

Wee Assorted Butterflies
old paper (for background)
acrylic paint (to colour)
flocking and scatter/moss and tiny fake flowers
glue and good fussy cutting scissors
foam adhesive squares

And if you'd rather just buy one of these lovelies, you can pop over to the etsy shop. You'll find them HERE.

Pssst, don't tell anyone I told you, but if you feel like you need a little more guidance I have a similar project, complete with video tutorial, coming up in just a couple of days.

Little Moon Portraits

I've been working like mad! I have a number of projects coming up that I think you'll like. Some projects have to sit in my back pocket for a while before I share them, but I do have a whole set of bits to show off today.

I started off with those little resin frames that you find in the bargain bins at Michael's. They were all different colours and not the colour scheme I wanted to play with, so I primed and painted and messed with them until they made a nice group.

Inside I've filled each with a lady from Little Portraits.

Backed with old music papers, coloured blue and sprinkled with stars.

Each has a paper moon from my new Compact Celestial Collage Sheet.

And a paper butterfly from my Wee Assorted Butterflies sheet

Finally, some Flat Back Gold Stars

So, to make your own you'll need the following bits:

Assorted small resin frames
Little Portraits
Compact Celestial Collage Sheet
Wee Assorted Butterflies
Flat Back Gold Stars
Old paper (for background)

Acrylic paint
Glue

And if you'd rather not make your own, all of these ladies are available in the etsy shop HERE

Happy humpday, lovelies! Hope the rest of your week is magical.

Butterfly madness!

This year we focused our gardening efforts on planting for pollinators. Butterflies, moths, bees and hummingbirds have come out in full force. 

I noticed a few Monarch chrysalis around the deck. Hanging from the birdfeeders, under cushions, all sorts of awkward spots.

Have you ever seen a Monarch chrysalis? There are little golden dots and a magic sparking gold seam on them. I had no idea what I was looking at the first time I saw one. They are so beautiful, almost otherworldly.

I also spied Monarch caterpillars everywhere. After a bit of reading I thought I'd try my hand at raising a few butterflies. I'd never done that as a kid and I thought it was about time to change that!

I brought three fat caterpillars (and a whole bunch of fresh juicy milkweed) inside and placed them in a small aquarium. They ate so much and they pooped even more. Seriously. SO. MUCH. POOP.

After only a few days my caterpillars did their thing and became chrysalis. Next, the wait. 

The chrysalis darkens as it changes, turning almost black. The day the butterfly emerges you can actually see the butterfly wings through the outer shell!

I was lucky to see the first butterfly slip out of the skin and watch as her wings unfurled and spread. I wasn't quick enough to film the magic moment, but it was rather lovely.

The first butterfly emerged on Friday the 13th so I named her Jason.

Within a few days the two others emerged too.

Two of my girls flew off as soon I placed them in the garden, but this one took her time and posed very nicely for me.

We had a nice long good-bye before she set out on her adventure.

So now I'm even more mad for those fluttery things. Next year I'll raise skads more, despite the massive amounts of caterpillar poop. To tide me over I'm going to plonk even more paper butterflies on my projects so I've put together a new collage sheet for just that. 

I've also made the sheet available in different colours and sizes because you never know when you'll need a sheet of violet hued butterflies.

If you've ever thought of raising butterflies, I highly recommend it. Seeing their transformation was absolutely moving. Setting them free was totally rewarding. 

But don't say I didn't warn you about THE COPIOUS CATERPILLAR POO!

Free Photo Friday

Once a week I share an old timey photo from my personal collection. Feel free to use them in your mess making, art and crafting.

The images are not polished and left in their grungy, smudged and speckled glory. Just how I like 'em! Without further ado... 

Do NOT sell, give, or distribute the images as your own, digitally or printed, alone or as part of a collection, collage sheet or group. BUT DO absolutely make stuff with them and sell the stuff you make. If you share your project, a link is appreciated.

Violators will be turned into toads, given warts, all the bad stuff... I mean it... It won't be pretty. 

Mini Retro Sticker Album

I was listening to The Murder Squad the other week and Billy Jenson (one of the hosts) mentioned collecting stickers as a kid. Man oh man, memories of my own sticker album came rushing back and I immediately wanted to make a mini sticker album.

It turned out pretty dang adorably. It was amazing how many people had such strong memories of their sticker collections. The types and styles and smells. The trading! Such good, sweet, nostalgia.

It made me so happy I made a second album. And while it's not perfect I wanted to share this project because I think it's such a nice little dose of happiness.

For the second little album I took a trip to the Dollar Tree and visited the kids sticker section. I stood there and wondered why the hell I ever gave up sticker collecting and seriously considering starting a new one. I mean, there are some seriously fun and nifty stickers out there!

I managed to buy a few books with stickers tiny enough for my wee albums. I think the secret is to look for things that say 700 Stickers! There's a slew of tiny stickers in there that most people would groan over, but are perfectly suited to these wee books. The other option is to hit the beauty section, find the nail polish and have a nose about for tiny nail embellishments. Perfect little sticky size.

As far as the albums. These are handmade, spiral bound, hardcover with laminate pages inside. I don't know about you but my old sticker album had that plastic film covering the pages and it wouldn't be right if my mini version didn't have that too.

If you'd like to make your own wee album I do have a tute that takes you through everything. You can find that HERE on my youtube channel.

And here is the list of all the supplies that you'll need (it really doesn't take much to make these!)

• card stock (cover paper)

• cardboard (cereal box)

• scrapbook paper

• thin wire (I used florist wire)

• glue stick

• packing tape

• STICKERS!!!!

Helpful tools:

• something pokey/small hole punch
• brayer

• thin doweling

• bone folder

• scissors

• paper cutter

What do you say? Are you with me?! Let's stir up some 80s style radical cuteness!

Free Photo Friday

Once a week I share an old timey photo from my personal collection. Feel free to use them in your mess making, art and crafting.

The images are not polished and left in their grungy, smudged and speckled glory. Just how I like 'em! Without further ado... 

Do NOT sell, give, or distribute the images as your own, digitally or printed, alone or as part of a collection, collage sheet or group. BUT DO absolutely make stuff with them and sell the stuff you make. If you share your project, a link is appreciated.

Violators will be turned into toads, given warts, all the bad stuff... I mean it... It won't be pretty. 

Free Photo Friday

Once a week I share an old timey photo from my personal collection. Feel free to use them in your mess making, art and crafting.

The images are not polished and left in their grungy, smudged and speckled glory. Just how I like 'em! Without further ado... 

Do NOT sell, give, or distribute the images as your own, digitally or printed, alone or as part of a collection, collage sheet or group. BUT DO absolutely make stuff with them and sell the stuff you make. If you share your project, a link is appreciated.

Violators will be turned into toads, given warts, all the bad stuff... I mean it... It won't be pretty.