Upcycled Shabby Pail for Tresors de Luxe

Todays project is absolutely inspired by the January monthly challenge mood board found HERE at Tresors de Luxe. A recycled/upcycled metal bucket turned pretty shabby pail.

Here's how it started out. (The picture is pretty terrible, but honestly, a better shot would not improve how it looked.)

The bucket was filled with delicious bottles of hard cider from my father-in-law (pretty much the perfect gift in my estimation). Looking past the bird, beer, beach and blue sky, a good sized metal pail for toting around craft supplies is nothing to snub your nose at. Sophisticating the rockin' tropical exterior was fairly simple.

I covered the exterior with a good coat of matte white spay paint. Once dry I applied a bit of colour by smooshing (that's a very technical term) some pale blue and white acrylic paint on the surface. Then the embellishments!

I used lace from the January blog kit for the edging and the pretty dangly bit. Colour is added with the addition of a length of seam binding. Deconstructed Ivory Applique Lace Trim from my stash provides a perfect foundation for that vintage button. But check out that sparkle! I think that Rhinestone Silver Key Charm is really the crowning jewel and oh, soooo pretty.

The laces and sparkly key used in this project are from the January blog kit (except for the tiny piece of applique behind the vintage button) which you can now purchase from Tresors de Luxe. If you'd prefer to purchase them individually, here is the supply list:

Ivory Venice Lace GL-108
Ivory Applique Lace Trim GL-185
Rhinestone Silver Key Charm CH-026
Ivory Lace Fabric Trim BN-010

Additional supplies used in this project:
galvanized bucket
spray paint
acrylic paint
glue
vintage button
seam binding

Old timey seed storage

I can not be the only person who finds crafting for men extremely difficult. There's only so many pairs of jamma pants you can make a man! 

So I set my mind to it: What does Mr. Pixie like?

• hot peppers

• making sausage
• food that takes a gazillion years to prepare and is a pain in the bottom
• bacon
• his garden

My mind turned to alllll the seed packages that were tucked and stuffed everywhere. I began to dream of tidy seed storage.

I searched for something that would fit standard seed packets and as luck would have it, the spaces in this 15 Drawer Storage Cabinet are the perfect size!

Just flip it on it's back, and don't add the drawers! I am all for crafts that require less work. I had little divider tabs made so that the Mr. could label things if he liked (which clearly he has not done).

I slapped on a coat of green paint and roughed it up for an old timey feel. Finally, for the front, I digitally altered an antique seed label graphic to include 'Battilana & Son'. I was sorely tempted to add little feet, ornate corners and gussy this sucker up, but I held myself in check to keep it as functional as possible.

I know, I know... gardening isn't just for men and this could easily be given to any seed nut. But my struggle was real *overly dramatic swooning* and I think that others must face the same crafty dilemma when crafting for the men they love.

In the midst of chaos

I'm reorganizing my work space (again) to accommodate a huge paper file that the hubs refinished for me for Christmas. Isn't it glorious!? Each drawer can fit 6 12" pads *swoon*.

While cleaning and rearranging and organizing I uncovered supplies I forgot I had, a slew of unfinished projects and a couple of pieces that I never got around to sharing, including this gal...

In the middle of the chaos, a little bit of pretty.

Mashed up update post

I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

I've been napping, and relaxing and clearing away the Christmas hub-bub. I've been tidying my studio (ha!) and basically farting around and taking it easy. Totally unlike me but I think it has de-stressed me so much that I might actually avoid my usual post-Christmas 'oh-my-god-kill-me-now' sickness!

Anyway... today is Mr. Pixie's birthday and marks the last of the holiday celebrations in our house. Feeling fine and dandy (knock on wood) I'll be back to being a crafting machine next week.

Two little side notes:

This guy showed up on my deck yesterday.

He was pretty bold and watched me watching him from just a few feet away through the kitchen window. I admired him for a few minutes before running to grab my camera. He stayed put, just fluttering from spot to spot, and let me get a few shots in before taking off. He's a Sharp Shinned Hawk if you're interested in that sort of thing. 

He doesn't seem to have scared off the Dark-Eyed Juncos that hang around here every winter. They were still flying about, getting their fill of seed and bossing one another around. I'll have to keep my eye out though. As beautiful as that hawk is, I don't want to make those wee songbirds easy pickin's for him.

Lastly, my January kit from Tresors de Luxe arrived yesterday and I have a video reveal of the kit and review of the projects I created for them last month (see very bottom of this post for embedded vid). Tresors de Luxe is now selling the same Design Team Kits they provide their designers with if you want to play along. They have also introduced a monthly mood/inspiration board challenge with three prizes up for grabs. Here is this months board...

That's all for now. Hope 2016 is being kind to you!

Fairy Godmother Travelling Sales Wagon

There's a special place in my heart for fairy godmothers. Those fluttery, frilly, silly ladies make me positively giddy. I've often wondered where they get their godmotherly supplies from. Is there a shop? A fancy boutique? A traveling salesman!

And so this month I've created a tiny traveling sales wagon for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts with magical and glittery godmother paraphernalia.

The base is a square shrine shadowbox to which I have added 1 inch Fancy Wheels Wheels. I've also added Floral and Lace border sticks for some flourish. A small chipboard crest heralds potential customers to the godmotherly goods.

The wee sign reads "Préciosites", a term I came across when doing some godmotherly research. *It is a French literary style born from the lively conversations and playful word games of witty and educated intellectual ladies from 17th century France... they also happened to retell fairy tales. *according to the Wiki page anywho

Inside the wagon, all manner of items required for godmotherly duties. Fairy dust, candy, pumpkins to turn into carriages.

Absinthe and stout to whet the pallet, magical books, tiny sparkly shoes, wooden wands and wishing stars (and a few butterflies for good measure).

If you'd like to create your own version of this wee travelling sales-fairy wagon, you can check out the video walk-through for this project HERE.

Don't limit yourself to Fairy Godmothers! If goblins are more up your ally, go for it! What about baby bits and bobs for a sweet shower gift? Really, you could pick any theme and make your very own unique version of this project.

Here are a list of supplies I used:

Square Shrine Shadowbox
1 inch Fancy Wheels
Floral and Lace border sticks
Mini Crest Sign

Scrapbook paper (I used Forget-Me-Not from Lemoncraft)
Misc Fairy Godmother Goods such as:
stars, bottles, flowers, pumpkins, wings, fairy dust, wee books or whatever you can dream up!

Psst, here's a graphic you can use in your own piece.

For personal use only or I'll turn you into a toad ;)

Safety First!

I've had this idea bandying about my head since I created "The Infirmary" this past summer. With all the mischief that wee folk get in to I am certain that a fairy first aid kit would be quite practical.

And what would one find inside such a kit? This one has the bare essentials. Sterile bandage, pixie dust, wing tonic, sticky bandages and gauze. I'm sure that would do in a pinch and it packs neatly in these little tins.

If your fairies are in need of their own first aid kit, I've included the labels used in a collage sheet chocked full of miniature labels: Little Household Goods.

Above is just a sample of the labels included. The sheet includes all sorts of 'around the house' type labels including First Aid, Absinthe, chocolate, cookies, crackers, jam, a variety of fairy sized beer labels, soap, spices, food stuff, motor oil, tea, coffee and canned fruit, veg, treacle and more.

The Little Household Goods collage sheet includes labels that will fit the following wee things:
Old Fashioned Grocery Cans
Old Fashioned Grocery Rectangular Tins
Miniature Square Cookie Tins
Miniature Round Cookie Tins

Set of Unlabelled Jars, Bottles & Tins
Amber Resin Potions Bottle
Miniature Wine Bottles
Mini Clear Resin Whiskey Bottle 

Here's hoping you enjoy making your own fairy sized first aid kit... and that you never have cause to use it. Safety first!

Boxing Day Treat Boxes for Tresors de Luxe

I'm writing this post on Christmas eve day. It's the calm before the storm, before the food, the gifts, the drinks and merry making. By the time you read this it'll be Boxing Day. I thought it might be appropriate to make some little take-away boxes. A frilly little vessel to tuck left over Christmas cookies in and send holiday guests on their merry way.

I've simply covered some small kraft boxes in music paper and lined them with tissue as my base. A top that,  White Lace Trim and White French Lace are added. Finally, some paper butterflies, baubles and a large satin flower finish them off.

Now fill those wee boxes with small treats made with love, to enjoy and make the season linger just a little longer.

White Lace Trim
White French Lace
Satin flower

Kraft paper boxes
Music paper
Embellishments
Tissue paper