Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Spreading some love...

I'm planning a little "Love" themed how-to later on this week
and put together this collage sheet of sweet nothings for you to use.



Please don't sell, or distribute, in part or whole as your own or I'll turn you into a toad.
You know the deal.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Inspiration in unlikely places

I did an interview the other day and was asked about inspiration.

I'm pretty sure that inspiration is mostly about recognising what's right there in front of you.

Today we went on a walk through a little cemetery called Greenwood. It's just around the corner from the Pixie house. The family who owned our home many years ago are buried there.

I've always loved cemeteries. They are filled with quiet and calm. They are a very good places for thinking... and finding. Even today, damp and dreary, we found inspiration.










Saturday, January 12, 2013

Trails

Our snow is melting.

It has been raining and unseasonably warm this week. I have been assured that winter will resume. No need for panic, there will be plenty of time for sledding and skating... just not right this minute. My snow boots aren't going back into the closet just yet.

This morning I discovered something interesting in the melting snow. A rather long trail.

 
For more than fifteen feet this line appears in the snow. There are spots where the snow has not completely melted but you can  make out the dark line of the tunnel beneath a thin layer of frosty ice.



In other spots the snow has melted away and evidence of a small burrowing friend has been exposed. Perhaps he was on his way to a holiday party?

I like the idea of a bustling world beneath that white surface.

Perhaps if I followed the trail I'd find a stash of stolen sunflower seeds from the bird feeder and the button that popped off my coat last Thursday.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Faerie Berries


There's something about little red berries. They look like they are probably very delicious.

When D was little, reaching out to those tempting little orbs, we would always say "Don't touch those! Those are faerie berries."

*****

One day, a very long time ago, two children were playing near the woods. After a grand day of romping and hiding and chasing, they found themselves quite hungry. The young boy spied some delicious looking red berries that seemed ripe to be picked. He plucked several off their branches and popped them into his mouth. They were delicious.

His little friend was also hungry and she too grabbed a handful of those berries. Her eyes widened as she realized their sweetness, and she promptly swallowed them down.

The two children found the berries so delicious that they ate and ate and ate. Although they were no longer hungry, they behaved very greedily, and stuffed themselves full.

When the children left for home, the berry bush was bare.

A week passed before the children returned to that same spot. Again they played and played, tiring themselves out. When the sun was high, they realized it was time for their tea and that their bellies were quite empty. Off they trotted to the berry bush.

Just as the boy was reaching out for one of the sweet little fruits, a small man stepped from the bush.

"What do you want? Stay away from my berries!" The little man grumbled.

He was round and gruff. His clothes made of scraps of leather and furs. A bushy brown beard framed his round face. Somewhere in the whiskers two dark eyes twinkled. The man was less than two feet tall but his trident of impossibly large thorns made him an imposing figure nonetheless.

The little girl spoke up sweetly, "Oh please sir, we are quite hungry from playing all day. We only wanted a handful."

The tiny man looked at the children skeptically and said "Very well. If you are hungry, a handful each, but no more. You have been warned!" and with that he pointed his thorny weapon at the children, a sign that he was to be taken seriously. Then the little man turned and disappeared through the berry bush branches.

The children each took one handful and sat beside the bush to enjoy their treat. When they were done they took some more. What harm could a few more berries do? Surely they would not be missed. Then, another handful, and another.

Tummies bursting the children rolled over and fell asleep beneath the empty berry bush.

It was dark when the children woke to the sound of their names being called. Their parents were quite relieved to find them unharmed. The entire search party was pleased to see them and the mood was merry at the happy discovery.

"I warned you!"a gruff voice interrupted the good cheer. The rough little man stepped forward into the torch light. The group was shocked silent, no one dared move. "We fed your children when they were hungry. They gave no thanks or thought. They showed only greed. From this day forth, if any man or child should eat from our berry bushes, the consequences will be... unpleasant." A dark smile spread beneath the little man's whiskers. As he disappeared into the dark of the woods he called out, "You have been warned!"

The townspeople went back and spread word of the warning given by the strange little man. For a long time no one dared touch a berry bush, but eventually the encounter with the little man was all but forgotten. The warning became nothing more than a fairy tale and no one pays much attention to them.

One day, two children were playing near the woods and found themselves quite hungry. The young boy spied some delicious looking red berries that seemed ripe to be picked. He plucked several off their branches and popped them into his mouth. They were delicious.

His little friend was also hungry and she too grabbed a handful of those berries. Her eyes widened as she realized their sweetness and she promptly swallowed them down.

Tummies bursting, the children rolled over and fell asleep beneath the empty berry bush.

This time the discovery of the children was not so jovial.

The search party wept as the little man stepped out of the berry bush once again. With his thorned trident he pointed at one man in the group, the one who had eaten the berries as a boy all those years ago, the father of the boy now laying beneath the berry bush. "I warned you! I warned you!" he sobbed, for the gruff little man was crying too.

The little man was not an entirely heartless or bad creature. He knew how tempting those little berries could be. Out of his grief he gifted the people with berry bushes of their own. Berries they could eat their fill of with little consequence. To ensure that there was always fruit for the wild folk however, he reserved a very few plants just for them. Again he proclaimed that should they be eaten, the consequences would be 'unpleasant'.

And so, to this day, you should always take special care to never, ever, eat from a Faerie Berry bush.

You have been warned.


Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Babbling

At the bottom of our hill there is a small stream that runs year round. It's a beautiful and enchanting spot. It even sounds lovely...


A perfect babbling brook!

I'm certain if the goblins didn't live down there I'd plonk myself down and dream away. But goblins do live down there, so I'll settle for short visits.



Today I stumbled upon a hole in the snow down by the stream. It was a strange little hole, about 5" across. There were no prints of any sort surrounding it. The snow lay even and undisturbed for a good 12 feet surrounding it. I looked inside and saw that it was the entrance to a deep snow tunnel, but at the end of the tunnel... nothing.


I suspect whatever made the tunnel also made a door of snow to fool silly humans who go looking inside holes in the snow.

Monday, January 07, 2013

Planning Ahead

Winter is just settling in but I'm already thinking ahead to May and June. I'm scheduling some events for the coming year and two things I'm really excited about are "A Walk Through the Woods" and "The Firefly Picnic".


In May we'll be hosting "A Walk Through the Woods", a hike through Proctor Provincial Park.
As we make our way through the woods we'll search for faerie hiding spots and signs of magical activity.
It should be great fun and a fabulous way to stir up a bit of inspiration.
 

Summer Solstice is a night full of magic and the perfect time for spying faeries.
This year we're celebrating by revealing the brand new faerie tour
and making merry on Pixie Hill with a night time picnic!

If you are planning a trip to Pixie Hill THIS is the event to attend.

We're limiting the number of participants for this event to 20.
So if you'd like to partake in the magic please register early.

It's going to be divine.

For more information on these events please visit the Pixie Hill website.

_____________________

NOW, for my far-away friends I'm working on some online creativity workshops.
that will feed your creativity and help you push your work to the next level.
 
AND because I know that money is tight for so many right now,
I'll be offering a couple of free mini-workshops too.

Lack of funds should NEVER hinder your creative spirit.
xoxo
 

Sunday, January 06, 2013

Chook in the Snow


Chook in the Snow
6" x 12" • Acrylic on Canvas

We have several laying hens here at the Hill. We love our girls. They're warm and fat and funny.

The girls (as Mr Pixie calls them) live in a hen house in the winter. The house is on sort of stilts so there's a spot beneath that is clear of snow. When the girls need some fresh air they sit under there and complain about the weather "Bawk, baaa, bawk, bawk, bwaaa."

Here's one of our newest gals pecking some scratch seed from the snow. She'd much rather have grapes (they all would) but she'll settle.