tutorial :: summer fairy peg dolls

 

In honor of International Fairy Day on June 24th, Bella Luna Toys asked whether I'd like to collaborate on a Summer Fairy Peg Doll Tutorial...

You can find the tutorial here!

 

In case you're interested, Bella Luna Toys sells copies of my first book, and they also sell blank peg dolls!

 

 How will you be celebrating International Fairy Day this year?

forest fairy crafts blog tour!

Six years ago, C&T Publishing released the book Forest Fairy Crafts by Lenka Vodicka-Paredes and Asia Currie. The joy with which this book was written is contagious, and it overflows with magic.

So, you can imagine my delight when I heard that a follow-up book, titled Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons, was in the works. C&T Publishing shipped out a copy to me (via fairy-mail, of course), and it was a happy day when the book landed on my doorstep.

Please keep reading to the end of this blog post for more information about the blog tour for Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons plus information about a GIVE-AWAY to win an ebook version.

As with all craft books which arrive on my doorstep, they are immediately commandeered by my younger son.  This book is 143 pages long, however my son didn't make it past page 42, where he was enchanted by the idea of stitching a tiny fairy baby.

At nearly 9 years old, my son hardly needed my help with this project. I cut the felt body for him, threaded a needle and knotted the end of the thread -- he did the rest. NB there is a helpful section at the end of the book with ideas for ways to assist children of varying ages + skill levels with sewing projects. Given my son's comfort with sewing, I was free to sit with him and stitch up a fairy baby, too.

From start to finish, gathering supplies to gluing acorn caps, this project took us 45 minutes -- a perfect after-school activity.

Now for information on how you can win an ebook version of  Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons:  

1) For 1 entry please leave a comment below this blog post.

 2) On FACEBOOK there are 4 opportunities to enter your name: follow my page (or let me know you are already following), like, comment and share my post about Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons.

3) On INSTAGRAM there are also 4 opportunities to enter: follow me (or let me know if you are already following), like, comment and tag a friend.

This give-away is open to participants anywhere in the world. A winner will be chosen by random number on June 25th, and an ebook will be sent via email. Thank you to C&T Publishing for providing an ebook for this give-away!

Please visit all the blog tour participants for inspiration plus more opportunities to win an ebook of Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons!

June 9 Welcome  https://www.forestfairycrafts.com/journal

June 11 C&T  https://www.ctpub.com/blog/

June 12 Annette Bay Pimentel http://www.annettebaypimentel.com

June 13 we bloom here http://webloomhere.blogspot.com

June 14 Clever Chameleon  https://www.cleverchameleon.com.au/blog

June 21 Thank You and Wrap Up  https://www.forestfairycrafts.com/journal

FTC Compliant Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of this book 
by C&T Publishing to facilitate a review, however, all 
opinions expressed above are entirely my own.

Thank you to everyone who entered this give-away 
via blog comments, Facebook and Instagram.  
Congratulations to Sharon Beacham.  
C&T Publishing will be sending you an ebook!

birthday

"I mean, what is an un-birthday present?"

"A present given when it isn't your birthday, of course."

Alice considered a little.  "I like birthday presents best," she said at last.

You don't know what you're talking about!" cried Humpty Dumpty.  "How many days are there in a year?"

"Three hundred and sixty-five," said Alice.

"And how many birthdays have you?"

"One."

-- Lewis Carroll

My birthday was last week. I made an ice cream cake (above), received cards, phone calls, emails + messages from near and far, a hug from one son, a hastily scrawled card from the other, and the most horrible bouquet of flowers from my husband. I adore flowers, but apparently the aroma of Stargazer lilies makes me nauseated (and in an odd twist, my sons felt sentimental about the flowers and became upset when I suggested that the best way to deal with the offending smell would be to send the flowers on a quick trip to the compost; so the flowers hung around the house, making me ill for several days).

On the heels of what shall heretofore and forever be known as "the horrible birthday bouquet," a magical parcel arrived on my doorstep from my dear friend Christine in France.

The first thing this parcel-of-marvels revealed was a birthday card; you can see the P.S. which Christine wrote at the bottom of the card. After reading this, I went through each item in the parcel, mystified.

After the card, next out of the box was not one but two(!) chocolate bars.  And no door to open.  Then, a pretty little paper packet of acorn caps came out of the box -- each variety of oak tree, across the world over, bears different shape acorns + caps, and I love receiving them. But there was no door here either.  I dug deeper into the box: a fancifully embroidered bag containing two ceramic feves for inserting into a galette des rois(!), plus two paper crowns (for setting atop a galette des rois)!  But no door.  And then...

The final little paper packet revealed... a door! Christine and I laugh when sharing peculiar vocabulary, and so, describing the little house as "biscornu," she asked what the translation might be. The best words I could come up with were lopsided, tumbledown, ramshackle, or simply crooked, which brings to my mind the traditional nursery rhyme, "There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked style; He bought a crooked cat which caught crooked mouse, And they all lived together in a little crooked house." Can you imagine a little crooked cat (and mouse) peering out of that tiny window beneath the roof-peak?

And then I did finally open the door to find a tiny bird, chirping a happy birthday message...

Detail upon detail... when I turned the bookmark over, there was a tiny apple tree.  The little crooked man, the little crooked cat, the little crooked mouse and the birthday bird, must surely feast well on tiny apple tarts, baked in a little crooked oven, of course.

And can you tell that Christine is part fairy?  Her stitches are so small, surely only a fairy could have sewn them. And surely only a fairy could have imagined such a bookmark...

Thank you, Christine, for this beautiful gift -- a perfect companion for my literary wanderings... xo

... and speaking of skipping ropes

Andy Spandy Sugardy Candy

French Almond Rock!

Bread and Butter for your Supper's

All Your Mother's GOT!

My son & I have been skipping rope and you can read about how we made our own skipping ropes HERE. Our new favorite book is Elsie Piddock Skips in her Sleep by Eleanor Farjeon, because what could be more delightful than a story about a little girl who skips rope with the fairies? We love the rhyme Elsie Piddock sings about Andy Spandy -- did you know that Andy Spandy is the Fairy Skipping-Master? Plus, in the story, there is another special skipping song taught to Elsie by the fairies...

And then a few weeks ago I came across another magical book about skipping rope... The Fox Wish by Kimiko Aman.

What were your favorite skipping rope rhymes as a child?  I'd love to know about them in any comments you'd care to leave below!

magical miniature gardens & homes :: book review and giveaway

FTC Compliant Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of this book by Page Street Publishing Co. to facilitate this review., however, all opinions expressed below are entirely my own.

Dear lovely readers -- I have been in on a secret for a few months and am excited to share some ever-so-lovely fairy sized news with you today. Donni Webber of the blog The Magic Onions has written a book:  Magical Miniature Gardens & Homes.

If you are a reader of The Magic Onions, then you're already aware that, since 2010, Donni has been our ambassadress to the magical realm of fairy gardens. You can click HERE to see the enchantments which Donni has wrought & inspired. Who then would be better qualified to write a book on the topic of tiny, magical gardens?

 

What I love best about this book, and what I feel makes it unique, is that Donni explains how to make everything instead of relying on purchasing pre-fabricated items.  The book contains instructions for making everything from bedsteads to benches, toadstools to wishing trees; and while these gardens might look intricate, each item, for the most part, can be constructed from objects and craft supplies you might already have lying around the house.  Moreover, Donni's instructions are so very clear and uncomplicated for making each tiny item, that crafting is fun as opposed to intimidating.

Bravo to Donni and the editing team at Page Street Publishing Co. for putting together a book in which the crafts are accessible to children and which sparks their endless capacity for creativity (the book is wonderful for adults who love delving into imagination, too!!).

 

Now for the give-away.  Please leave a comment below for an opportunity to win a copy of Magical Miniature Gardens & Homes (and just for fun, if you wish, you might, in your comment say what your name would be if you were a fairy).  I will choose a winner via random number generator on Monday, December 5th.  Note: unfortunately, due to the high cost of international postage, this giveaway is only open to residents of the US and Canada.

Thank you to Donni for creating such a wonderful book and opening the fairy realms to all.  Thank you also to Page Street Publishing for spreading fairy magic and for kindly offering a copy of this gorgeous book to my readers.

Comments for this post are now closed and a winner has been selected for the give-away.  Thank you for your interest!

gathering toadstools

I spent Saturday afternoon at my favorite haven for artists and dreamers: Castle in the Air.  While I was there, I had the pleasure of chatting with dozens of lovely people visiting the shop, and sent them on their way accompanied by tiny, acorn capped autumn sprites (it was a free make-and-take workshop; for more info on upcoming make-and-take events, you can have a look HERE).

 

While I was at Castle in the Air, I noticed a sudden & surprising infestation of toadstool babies.  It was as though they had magically sprouted on the forest floor after a rain shower, only it wasn't raining inside The Castle.

I have a suspicion that these wee toadstool folk migrated over to the craft table from this beautiful display of German spun-cotton delights.  You can find this display just inside the door to Castle in the Air and you can also find spun-cotton mushrooms HERE in The Online Shoppe. (note: the caps worn by the toadstool babies above are 1.75 cm on the smaller one and 2.5 cm on the larger ones.)

children's fairyland

Have you ever visited Children's Fairyland in Oakland?

Children's Fairyland opened in 1950, and was visited by Walt Disney during the time he was developing and building Disneyland (which opened five years later, in 1955).  Everything in Children's Fairyland is candy-colored, 1950's retro, and there is so much to see and love.  To view more photos and find information, you can go to the Children's Fairyland website here.

Here is a peculiar little carousel featuring characters from Alice in Wonderland.

Beware.

A clock-tower

The Jolly-Trolly

And if it all wasn't marvelous enough, there is a puppet show performed three times every day.

We were lucky to see a sweet version of the Wizard of Oz.

Off to Neverland!

Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning...

A certain small someone cried and cried when the park closed at 5:00 and it was time for us to head home. But I've promised him that we will go back soon.

fairy bread

A few months ago, the Australian tradition of fairy bread crossed my radar. White bread, crusts off, slathered with butter and covered with nonpareils. It sounded revolting.  And yet... intriguing.

So, after last week's adventure with Bubble Tea, I determined to continue widening our culinary horizons and subject... I mean... expose... my children to this exotic delicacy.

Of course, what's not to like about bread covered with brightly colored, crunchy, sugary bits? My children took to it immediately with gusto and delight. (Was I surprised? Not in the least.)

My favorite thing about fairy bread (besides the pretty nonpareils) is the origin of the name.  It's said to be called after a poem by Robert Lewis Stevenson.

Fairy Bread

Come up here, O dusty feet!

Here is fairy bread to eat.

Here in my retiring room,

Children, you may dine

On the golden smell of broom

And the shade of pine;

And when you have eaten well,

Fairy stories hear and tell.

My older son preferred a variation of fairy bread which substitutes Nutella for butter, however my little one was happy either way.  If you would like to read a precise (and very funny) recipe for fairy bread, have a look here.  And for an entertaining discussion of this (ahem) scrumptious & nutritious snack click here.

Addendum :: It is implied in the article linked above that, in Australia, fairy bread might be substituted for cake at children's birthday parties, however I have been informed by Australian readers that this would never be the case!  To read further about treats (besides fairy bread) served at children's parties in Australia, you can have a look here and here.

tutorial :: making tiny cakes

Last week I posted tutorials on making a recycled cardboard doll house and some little beds.  Then, earlier this week I posted a tutorial on creating little doll tables. Today it's time to dream up something festive for your dolls to bring to the table.

I was introduced to this tiny cake recipe by none other than the inimitable Anna Branford.  You can click here to see the original post where Anna's cakes first made their appearance.  Anna surely rubs elbows with members of the fairy community in order for her to know how to create such delicacies as these.

INGREDIENTS, ETC...

-- Wool felt in flavors to suit your taste:
    chocolate, vanilla custard, lemon curd,
    banana cream, strawberry swirl, sugared
    violet, etc...

-- Glass beads in complementary flavors
    (might I suggest sweet cherry cordial or
    essence of rose?)

-- A very fine embroidery needle & floss 

-- Scissors

STEP 1 ::  Cut 5-7 circles of wool felt per cake.  For smaller cakes, the circles should be approx. 1/2 in. (12 mm) diameter. For larger cakes, the circles are 1 in. (2.5 cm) diameter each.

STEP 2 ::  If you would like to stitch a platter, cut a circle from felt 3/4 in. (2 cm wide) in a contrasting color.  For a decorative touch, you can use blanket stitch to trim the edge.  Note: I only made platters for the smaller cakes.  I find that large buttons make suitable platters for the larger cakes.

STEP 3 ::  Arrange your cake layers and choose pleasing decor for the top.  If you don't have beads, you can make nice decorations by sewing tiny french knots with embroidery floss (see photos of Anna's cakes here).

STEP 4 ::  Hide your knot between the bottom 2 layers of cake (or between the bottom layer and the platter).  Then sew down through the bottom layer/platter, take a tiny stitch, and come up again through the center of your cake.

STEP 5 :: Put your needle through a bead, and then draw the needle & thread back down through the center of the cake.  If you would like to add more beads, bring the needle back up through the cake to the spot where you would like to add another bead and repeat process.  Note: I found that, to keep the cake a nice shape, it worked best if I did not pull the stitches tight when adding beads.

When you are done adding beads or french knots, bring your needle and thread up between the bottom two layers and knot discreetly (out of sight) between the layers.

Now it's time for cake!

Be sure to invite all your friends.
They like cake, too.