Happy October, and an Autumn Besom

Can you believe it's October? I swear September only lasted two weeks and there's Christmas stuff in the shops already. Ugh.

I'm going to slow myself down. If you want to speed along, go around me, enjoy yourself, but I'm going to savour this autumn and all it's magic.

A very short while ago I bought a whole bag of little brooms from a thrift shop. I knew right away they'd make perfect magic besoms.

So to celebrate autumn, and add dash of magical protection, I've tarted up one of those wee brooms with some magic.

White sage from the garden, oak leaves and acorns from the cemetery (with flowers left in exchange), and a protection bindrune carved with good intentions.

I feel good about that magic hanging in my door and think those leaves will dry quite nicely.

Now to gather all sorts of lingering flowers and plants and leaves to make magical besoms for all around the house! There will be magic pouring out of my windows and into the world.

Paper Fairy House Shrines

You know what I love? Smashing every single thing I love all into one project. Houses, little things,  shrines, butterflies, fairies... check, check, check....

Start with some super cute Mini House Shadowboxes and off you go! There are four different sizes available, each adorably tiny.

To embellish I've used old music sheets inside, and scrapbook paper on the exterior. 

A snip of Gold Tiny Dot Dresden Borders trims each roof.

Inside a paper fairy made from this Matchbox Fairy Collage Sheet with Transparent Wings. Paper butterflies, a pinch of moss, and few sprinkles of "faux flowers" finish those pretty things off.

The most difficult part of this project is cutting out the fairies, but with a pair of sharp scissors and a bit of patience you'll do just fine. If you want to see the whole process of assembling these pretties I have a video walk-through available HERE .

Easy right? You got this! To recap, here are all the supplies you'll need to make these sweet little Paper Flower Fairy House Shrines:

A mini house shadowbox, choose from:

Mini House Shadowbox 1

Mini House Shadowbox 2

Mini House Shadowbox 3

Mini House Shadowbox 4

Old paper
Acrylic paint

Scrapbook paper of choice
Matchbox Fairy Collage Sheet
Transparent Wings

Wee Assorted Butterflies
Gold Tiny Dot Dresden Borders

Moss/Flocking

Small fake flowers or scatter

Glue
Adhesive foam squares
Other embellishments, baubles, washi tape, buttons etc.

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. 

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.