Vintage Flower Fairies

While looking around the Antiques Centre in Corbridge just before Christmas I couldn't resist these two Flower Fairies books. Not a bad price at £4 each but a bit shabby looking on the outside, I've made them each a little dust jacket.

Now they look pretty and neat !

Inside they are a bit spotted but the illustrations are exquisite compared to some later editions.

I love my books - old, previously loved books are especially nice.
And the paper smells so - mmm - OLD ! ^_^

Resin Angels Photo Challenge #1

I signed up for Resin Angels monthly themed photo challenge so here is my first effort !
The theme this month is Fairy Tales.
Introducing my gorgeous Little Gretel, (my 'littlegretel' name is after her). I bought Little Gretel by Wendy Lawton online many years ago from The Dollery. She arrived with only one gingerbread man, there were supposed to be 2, with no satisfactory conclusion to this I never bought from them again, hmph!
She is full bodied porcelain and about 14" tall and had a crown of daisies but I hid it from Peach because she used sniff it out and run off with it on a regular basis ^_^

One newly fitted kitchen later - many other household type jobs too numerous to mention and another Xmas out of the way !
Hello January ^_^
Feeling inspired and confident for at least a few hours today that I could get back to being creative with something other than wallpaper and paint. All I have to do is manage my time more effectively. It's a plan ! Obviously it's already working, that's why I'm still up at 1.00am *groan*. Well it is still the Xmas holidays and tomorrow (er today) is another day. And look at it this way, being a leap year, there is a whole extra day this year that's 24 hours more than last year to look forward to!
Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year with some time to spend doin what you most like to do ^_^

Picture from The Months of The Year by Anne Hope illustrated by Flora White

11.11.11

REMEMBER

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Laurence Robert Binyon, 1869-1943

 

August

Like most people during the summer I like to spend as much time as pos' outside. I'm usually in the garden or yard - if the weather allows of course - pottering, hanging washing, sitting dreaming with the cats =^_^=
The past few days have been very humid bringing at times some very heavy rain. The flowers love it! When this beautiful Gaillardia kindly unfurled its petals I was instantly reminded of Cicely Mary Barkers Gaillardia Fairy. It's a real August type flower, deep red and rich yellow gold - a very 'Leo ish' ruffled bloom!

The Song of the Gaillardia Fairy

There was once a child in a garden.
Who loved all my colours of flame,
The crimson and scarlet and yellow -
But what was my name?

For Gaillardia's hard to remember!
She looked at my yellow and red,
And thought of the gold and the glory
When the sun goes to bed;

And she troubled no more to remember,
But gave me a splendid new name;
She spoke of my flowers as Sunsets -
Then you do the same!

CMB

A garden full of little sunsets - how lovely !
Hope u are havin a warm and happy summer
^_^
xx

Becky Kelly Giveaway

The lovely and talented Becky Kelly is havin' a giveaway on her blog !

A few years ago Becky's stuff was hard to source in the UK but Amazon.co.uk always seem to have little stock of her books and things.
'Dream a Little Dream' illustrated by Becky is a little book I keep in my bedside drawer just to peek at from time to time. Each page is soaked in rainbow hues and sprinked with stardust, wonderfully warm and cosy just like takin' a sip of fairy nectar !
Now Becky has her Etsy shop Periwinkle Sky
which is full of delicious prints and treats to tempt me : ) There is no way I can resist !

Remind yourself of the sweet and simple things in life - check out Becky Kelly's beautiful art.
^_^

In a Sweet Pea Dream Mail Art Challenge

In a Sweet Pea Dream - Mail Art Challenge
I happened to notice a tutorial in June issue of Craft Stamper magazine using envelopes so I used the idea for this challenge. The envelopes are attached together using 'the adhesive on the seal to stick to the lower edge of the front of the next envelope' to create a concertina book. I coloured the envelopes with Distress Ink before sticking them together and made the front and back covers using stiff card and covering with Fairy Flora papers by Prima. I decorated the envelopes using Meredith Dilman fairy stamps and cut some stripey paper for the insert - this is where you can pop in some keepsakes. The other side is decorated with some swirly stamps, toadstools, fairy stickers, a printed fairy poem and some Stickles! The front cover edges are embossed with holographic powder and the wooden butterfly is Kaiser Craft also embossed with glitter.
I really like this use of envelopes and I think I'll do it again.
It was a bit difficult to photograph because of its length - but I think you'll get the idea ^_^

Fairy Poem

...Such a soft floating witchery of sound
As twilight Elfins make, when they at eve
Voyage on gentle gales from Fairy-Land,
Where Melodies round honey-dropping flowers,
Footless and wild, like birds of Paradise,
Nor pause, nor perch, hovering on untamed wing!...

S.T.Coleridge

Hoot the Owl

I'm waiting for this adorable little owl to wing his way to me from The Mushroom Peddler
Sarah B Seiter has a fantastic range of bjd creatures including Howl the wolf, Squeak the rat, Shelley the turtle, unicorns (to come) and Singe the dragon who is as cute as pie and probably next on my list !
I pre ordered Hoot unpainted - er that looks a lot of white resin to be covered !
Unless of course he turns out to be an albino moonowl ; ) !

Fairy Party Giveaway Draw !

It's time for the Fairy Party giveaway draw !
Huge thanks to everyone who took part and left wonderful comments -
you are all here.

In the bag

All shook up

And out pops ...

ROISIN !
Woohoo !
Congratulations Roisin the fairy card is yours.
All you have to do is contact me with your address so I can post it off to you.

How exciting - well, I like givin stuff away so keep a look out for another little giveaway in a few weeks time.
For now I wish u all a fairy happy weekend !
^_^

Thank u for Fairy Day Party !

I really enjoyed the fairy day party hosted by Jorgelina ! It was a great opportunity to peek around everyones blogs : ) And a big thank u to all those who visited mine !
I was however, a bit annoyed by Bloggers performance when I tried to leave comments. There's a certain comment form that I just cannot use, which meant I couldn't leave a little message on all the blogs I wanted to. It asks me to sign in over and over and will not recognise my Google account. Sooo frustrating !!

Never mind tho' - don't forget that you have until 1st July to be in with a chance to win my little fairy giveaway.
That's if Blogger will allow u to comment of course ^_^

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!
They often have a dance on summer nights;
The butterflies and bees make a lovely little breeze,
And the rabbits stand about and hold the lights.
Did you know that they could sit upon the moonbeams
And pick a little star to make a fan,
And dance away up there in the middle of the air?
Well, they can.

part of a poem by Rose Fyleman
Picture from Pookie by Ivy Wallace

Happy Fairy Day + little giveaway ^_^

Hello and welcome to Jorgelina's Fairy Day Party!
Happy Fairies Day !

It was, it was a fairy man
Who came to town today;
"I'll make a cake for sixpence
If you will pay, will pay."

I paid him with a sixpence,
And with a penny too;
He made a cake of rainbows,
And baked it in the dew.

The stars he caught for raisins,
The sun for candied peel,
The moon he broke for spices
And ground it on a wheel.

He stirred the cake with sunbeams,
And mixed it faithfully
With all the happy wishings
That come to you and me.

He iced it with a moonbeam,
He patterned it with play,
And sprinkled it with star dust
From off the Milky Way.

The Fairy Man by Mary Gilmore

Fairy Party Gift !
In honour of the fairy party I have made a special card to give away !
I used DCWV and Cosmo Cricket papers to form a 3D tunnel card. Nestled inside is a delicate decoupage
of the pretty Shirley Poppy Flower Fairy. I have embossed it with 'Believe' and 'Make a wish' sentiments in gold. It folds flat to pop in an envelope.
If u would like a chance to win my fairy party gift all u have to do is leave a little comment before the 1st July. Then I will pop the names in my hat and draw out a winner !

Whatever u do today have fun with the fairies!
^_^

Foxglove Fairies

There is something about foxgloves - wherever you find them they seem to lend a magical air to their surroundings. For instance - a garden with foxgloves appears to be more wild. But if you come across a foxglove at the edge of a wood the wild feels more like a garden.
The foxglove above is in our garden. I'm presuming that it's a cultivated plant because it is perennial. The picture below I took today in the woods, a true wildflower, a darker pink and a prettier shape, I think.

We didn't see a foxy whiskered gentleman reading his newspaper as in Beatrix Potter but we did see a Mrs Tittlemouse
^_^

The fairies love the foxglove too -
Fairies and Foxgloves by Molly Brett

And here is Pookie flying high above the wildflowers -
from Pookie by Ivy Wallace

"Foxglove, Foxglove,
What see you now?"
The soft summer moonlight
On bracken, grass, and bough;
And all the fairies dancing
As only they know how.

Extract from The song of the Foxglove Fairy by Cicely Mary Barker