How to... make Faerie Specimens

I've got a brand new round of sick going on. Ug. I hate being sick (then again, who likes it?).

Below is a new viddy explaining how to make these little faerie cloche specimens.

If you do make some, head over to the Alpha Stamps Yahoo Group, show off your creation and you could win a Pixie Hill prize pack! The domes are listed HERE on alphastamps.com

I'm going back to bed for an hour to see if I can bore these germs to death.

Garage Sale Madness

I was up before 8 am today.

I do not like to be up before 9 am unless absolutely necessary. (like every single weekday that I must pack lunch and get the kid off to school and do all that other mum stuff.)

But my husband has the garage sale itch, which I suppose is better than any other sort of itch he could have, so I dragged my sorry bottom out of bed. Today's haul is this...

That, my friends, is exactly $9 worth of garage sale goods. Our haul today? An aluminum chicken feeder and vintage hair clipper (not pictured) a glass cloche with real butterfly, ugly tin clock, an old bird cage (75¢ SEVENTY FIVE CENTS!), misc wood letters, a glass cocktail shaker with all of it's bits in place, all sitting on a $1 kiddy table and... my very favourite... a little wicker doll buggy.

Maybe getting  up before 9am isn't such a bad idea after all.

Goblin Pub Update

After a bit of a break I'm back to work on the miniature goblin's pub. The place now has a name "The Squirrel's End" and the exterior is coming along nicely.

The inside is giving me a bit of grief however. It's not turning out how I imagined at all. Things just aren't fitting no matter how much I force them (yes, I am aware that is exactly my problem).

I did add one thing to the interior that I like very much...

... a hatch door on the second floor! I have to add screw heads but I really like it. It doesn't close all the way (grrrr) but it can still be played with and I like that very much.

I also made some seating for the pub which was a giant struggle. I like how the twiggy things look sort of like antlers. The seat part is made from cork which I thought was appropriate for a pubby place. The little round pub tables? Well, there's graffiti on those :)

That's it for now. I'm hoping to have this done by next weekend for the Brighton Arts Council Spring Jubilee Art Show and Sale... fingers crossed!

P.S. Just a reminder that I'll be chatting over at the Alpha Stamps Yahoo Group tomorrow at 4pm est. for their reproduction challenge. Come on over and I'll love you forever.

xoxo

A whole lot of this and that

Nothing really to show off today. I'm feeling a bit, um, 'stuck' actually. There's about 1,243 things on the go but nothing is happening today. After a mad flurry of making my mind has turned to a bit of mush. Perhaps it's because I cleaned my making room and I accidentally sucked up the arty momentum with the vacuum.

Here's my work area as it sits right now. One day after cleaning. Yes, this is after the cleaning. You can tell it's the after because you can see the floor. Give it a week and that table will be moved to the side and there will only be one bum shaped clear spot amidst a sea of supplies, paper, glue bottles and paint tubes.

Now for the this and that...

I can't believe I forgot to tell you about the blue chicken we saw at the poultry auction. A BLUE CHICKEN! It looked just like a muppet.  It was a dyed silkie chicken, which are the most fabulous looking things ever.

We also saw the ugliest chickens ever: bare necked chickens. (Edit: they are the second uglist behind naked featherless chickens.)  Here's a fellow from a recent Scientific America post about chickens.

While waiting for my groove to return I've been watching The Victorian Kitchen Garden this morning. I love all the BBC living history shows. Mr Pixie and I have been watching the latest Edwardian Farm and will be sad when the last episode airs next week. I'm sort of smitten with Peter Ginn *wink wink* , and Ruth Goodman is absolutely lovely. THIS is my kind of reality tv.

Like history, food and fun too? Other shows you may be interested in are... 
Heston's Feasts
The Supersizers Go... (Also The Supersizers Eat...)
Victorian Farm
Victorian Pharmacy

You may also like...
1900 House
Pioneer Quest

xoxo

Can you make this?

I've shown you how to make the wee houses and toadstools... can you put it all together to make these?

If you think you're up to it, Alpha Stamps is hosting a reproduction challenge over on their Yahoo Group. I'll be there this Saturday at 4pm est to chat about all things Pixie and answer any questions you have.

I'm pretty sure they've slipped something in my tea because I'm offering up this prize pack for the best entry.

The arty farty goodness includes a handmade cottage, a twiggy fairy wand, a set of 4 greeting cards, a bottle of wishes, a thimble garden and a faerie specimen. All said and done, that haul is worth around 7,000 in pennies (or $70 if you want to be a muggle about it).

Hope you'll come and play or else I'll be talking to myself and, well, I've already heard all of my jokes.

xoxo

Muddy Floor = Happy Kid

Sometimes it feels like you just can't win.

On one hand you have a bazillion commercials for cleaning products, 10 trillion pins on how to clean everything with baking soda and peroxide, and gorgeous photos of pristine, dustless homes reminding you just how messy your own place is. Truthfully, my house is a disaster most of the time.

On the other hand we're told "the cleaning can wait, play with your kid!" Put down the mop and play Just Dance 3 until your feet fall off! Yes, yes, yes, there are times when the laundry can wait and round of golf in the dining room is in order... but sometimes my kid is forced to entertain himself. *gasps!*

Anyway, here's evidence that world doesn't come to an end when the floor isn't mopped and that sometimes digging a 3 foot hole in the garden all by himself is exactly the right thing for a 9 year old to do.

When D picked up these boots this morning (yes, I left that mess over night) he was delighted. "Wow! Cool! Mum, look at my boots!" How can you argue with that?

On the flip side of muddy messes...

... a tiny little something pink for Alpha Stamps "Think Pink" challenge. Make something, anything at all, that incorporates something pink, post a photo on their facebook wall, and you could win a fabulous shrine by Teri Calia. You have until May 15th to enter so get those crafty fingers working! All the official details are HERE.

What's that? No pink in your crafty stash? Haven't placed an order with Alpha Stamps yet? No worries, they're offering a free digital Pink Fairy ATC collage sheet by emailing [email protected]

Happy crafting & good luck :)

itty bitty friends

We went to an auction yesterday. It was not a rusty things auction, but a small animal/bird/poultry auction. They sell pigeons, chickens of all sorts, ducks, peacocks and rabbits. This is the second year we've attended this particular shin-dig. Last year we got frustrated and left early. This year we made it over half-way through and came home with a few new friends.

We bought the tiniest box with these little fellows in it. Can you guess what type of bird he is?

No?

Hint: When we reenact the 12 days of Christmas he'll come in very handy.... so long as the pear trees survive the sudden chill and snow today.

Big D also got a little something, a furry little dwarf hamster. No word on a name for him just yet but he's very cute except for the red gleam in his beady eyes which totally freaks me out. Ah well, the kidlet actually cleaned his bedroom for the furry bugger so he can't be completely evil.

xoxo