Creating a little magic in the studio!

I've always loved fairies.

I love the idea of them existing,

watching over nature and living

in their magical woodland homes!

So for my latest project I decided to alter a wooden

house purchased at the craft store into a whimsical fairy house ~

Here's what I purchased at Hobby Lobby!

Not too special but a perfect piece for me to embellish.

I began by base painting it with normal acrylic paints in the little bottles.

After painting I wanted to age it a bit

and created a mossy wash and also a brown wash

to give it an older look, especially around the windows

and in the crevices.

I found a great cigar box to use as a platform and painted it as well.

Next I began adding all different kinds of natural elements.

I've been gathering these goodies for years!!

Some items are store bought like some of the moss and little wood cuts

but a lot is gathered from our yard right here at home.

Three different roof styles made it so much more charming and interesting!

A thatched roof was created from unwound jute, glued in overlapping layers.

One roof is created from pieces of pine cones and mosses.

And lastly, the other roof was made from river birch bark and

other bark pieces with lichen.

The more that was added, the more I loved it!!!

It's funny when you begin working on something like this.

You sometimes have to reel yourself in and decide

when it's time to stop.

So here is my finished piece!!!

I'm so pleased with how this fairy house turned out!!!

This sweetie has been now added to my Etsy store ~

Wouldn't it be a perfect gift for a nature lover?

~ PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT ~

Thank you so much for always stopping by to see what I'm up to!

hugs and love,

Dawn

A whimsical fairy house ~

A few weeks ago I was commissioned by a dear friend of mine

to transform a simple night light into a woodland fairy house!

Creating these is so much fun because you can gather elements

from your yard and even buy some neat things at craft stores.

The house started off solid white with some type of sheer fabric

glued into the openings to soften the small light that inserts into the back.

I removed it all.

The sheer material was backed with acetate I imagine for safety's sake

with their being a bulb inside.

Next I spray painted a dark brown to have a more woodsy background.

Then I found an amazing image online of the inside of a fairy house

someone had made, sized it appropriately and printed it out onto vellum.

I also had acetate sheets and cut them to size for each opening as well.

After I glued all the sheets on each window it was time for embellishing!

What I started with:

After it had been spray painted and images glued inside ~

You can see my stash of supplies I had to pull from!

The first thing I worked on was the moss around the base of the roof.

Next I made a "stone" fireplace using little pebbles and moss as well.

I had this incredible thick paper with straw and fibers that I used to cover the sides.

This added such a great contrast to the dark brown!

I cut sticks to wedge onto each corner and then

continued to add feathers, moss and small woodcuts around the base.

The finished fairy house ~

I so hope my customer is pleased and

I think I may need to make more of these!!!

Thank you always for stopping by to see what I'm up to!!!

Hugs and love,

Dawn

Dear little fairy shoes...

I've been working on a few pair of

my little fairy shoes!

These are made of leather...one pair is cut from a antique ladies glove ~

Each pair is a little different from the other but

I'm so pleased with how they look!

This is how they started off looking after I put the basic pattern pieces together ~

both pair were blank slates ready for me to embellish them!

And here the are!

They will be sold as pairs, each pair with seam binding hangers so they can be displayed

hanging on a knob or hook...

I still have to add the seam binding to the last pair

so they should end up in my Etsy store sometime today ~

I always love the feeling when I make things...

Wishing you a beautiful Wednesday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

A teeny bit disconnected ~

I don't really know why.

Or maybe I do...

Seems I can't get into my goodness zone ~

too much heaviness on my mind,

too much distraction,

too much everything.

I'm working a few needle books to sell as I've had some requests ~

and my mind is running rampant with more ideas but...

nothing's coming out.

Just feeling totally frustrated.

BUT....

The goodness I will share today??

I was so honored to give our sweet grandson Murray

his very first haircut this past Sunday evening!

Here he is, posing like a true gentleman after the fact...

our sweet, sweet boy ~ he's growing so fast!!!

Just look at that little expression...

a true heart stealer!!!

I hope you are doing so good...

feeling your muse and creating your heart out!

Wishing you a wonderful February Tuesday my precious friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

Returning to my cobbler ways ~

Thank you so much for your sweet encouragement about

my little magnolia fairy shoe!!! Believe it or not, as it has dried,

it has become smaller....it did sell and I think Kim will love

it even better in it's petite size!

So, even though it was really neat to make the shoe from magnolia petals,

I've always wanted to try making these precious tiny shoes from thin suede!

I've added a little sandwich for the sole of suede, thin cardboard

and then a woven fabric for the insole.

They are filled with wonderful moss, adorned with fragments of nature

and tied together, sold as a pair to be hung on a knob or nail ~

They only measure a mere 3" long from tip to heel and are only 1" wide!

I just listed them in my Etsy....

A light tan pair ~

And a brown/olive pair ~

Tiny, huh??

I love everything fairy and hope these make you smile today :)

Wishing you a wonderful Monday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn