Fairy Houses...

To help get you started on the activity and challenge part of this month's theme, I've looked up a few fairy houses!

Some are quite simple....like this one from Family Fun magazine...



and others are more elaborate



There is a TON of information on creating fairy houses on the web, Here is just one tutorial... you shouldn't have any difficulty finding things to spark your creativity! (Many are made by altering inexpensive birdhouses from craft stores...here is a link to a place that sells completed ones...for inspiration only of course!

After creating your fairy house, furnish it will a few little lovelies. Use an old place mat as the floor. Add a toadstool to perch on, and a flower for a bed.
Maybe a firefly to light the way.

Then, find a lovely place in the garden for it. Or on your patio, balcony, wherever!
Fairies fly, ya know! Ours will most likely be placed in a large planter so Mojo doesn't accidentally 'sprinkle' on it while watering the yard...ahem...

As an alternative you could make a sweet little felt fairy house like this one....here is the tutorial.

I'll post more with tutorials later...this should get you going though!

All the way from Australia!

YAY! I got my package yesterday from Natalie in Australia! Here's a quick pic...I blog about it in further detail in this post on my blog. I wanted to keep this post short and sweet since we're on to next months theme now. YAY for FAIRIES!

THANK YOU NATALIE! I love it all!

Fairy Tutorials and ideas....

I've had such fun finding tutorials for fairies!

I didn't know there were so many kinds! We have flower fairies, snowflake fairies, forest fairies, mushroom fairies...the list goes on and on.

I didn't link them all...just too many. But here is a little taste of what you can find simply by using google!

here is one link... and another....

Fairy Stuff has cuties for inspiration, including a tutorial, just scroll down...and down some more!

here is a link to a lovely snowflake fairy tutorial

here is a link to a sweet needle felted fairy (just a picture though...)

here is a link to a sweet little felt fairy tutorial

and ANOTHER felt fairy link...

and a flower fairy...

look at these cuties...here is the link
they are a bit large but it will give you a good idea....

this link shows several types of fairies, no tutorial but several lovely photos! (Since it is not a tutorial, I didn't want to post the photos....but be sure to check it out and scroll DOWN!)

Here is a sweet flower fairy tutorial! Sorry no photo...I couldn't get it to copy!

Please remember to make these as lovely as you can and keep them delicate in nature...

Come back tomorrow as I have some Fairy House links ready for you!

Tickled Pink!

My January YOE from Ramie has arrived! YAY!  Here is the parcel... I sooooo patiently took a photo - when really all I wanted to do was RIP it open!

  

And there inside was this:

 

Then this:

 

Ooh...so many beautiful packages to open!  Where to start - so exciting!

Ta da...!

 

Look, look, look - can you see what I got! :) 

How divine are the 3 acorn ornaments - all a bit special!

Some yummy teas - can't wait to try

Notecards - gorgeous!

And wait for it - 2 nappy covers for my darling 10mth old boy!

Here is a close up of the ornaments:

Ramie!!!  Thank you so much!  You totally made my day, heck month!  Love it all - you are so clever and so incredibly thoughtful. xxx

Had to share this with you all too:

 Sporting one of his brand new nappy covers!

 

 

February's theme!

A rustle in the wind reminds us a fairy is near...

February's ornament theme: FAIRY!

Challenge: use glitter! You know you GOTTA have glitter on a fairy!

Activity: create your own FAIRY HOUSE!

There are SO many fairy's out there....I have a post scheduled tomorrow with some links so be sure to check it out!

February's challenge is to use glitter on your fairy ornament. (how could you NOT?)

February's activity is to create your own fairy house.
I encourage you to use this as an opportunity to take a walk with someone special.
Go walking through the woods or on a walking trail in your neighborhood, even a local park. While walking, collect natural items to use in your creation.

Some fairy houses use only natural items while others just a few....use your imagination!
Think of feathers, rocks, pebbles, twigs, leaves, acorns, pine cones, seed pods.....




As always, I encourage you to post about your creations so we can all see it!




"Soft moss a downy pillow makes, and green leaves spread a tent,
Where Faerie fold may rest and sleep until their night is spent.
The bluebird sings a lullaby, the firefly gives a light,
The twinkling stars are candles bright, Sleep, Faeries all, Good Night."

~Elizabeth T. Dillingham, "A Faery Song"

OH, I FEEL SOOOO SPOILT!!!!

My package arrived today from Jenny................I love it:-> Jenny, thank you for spoiling me!!!

Each item came wrapped............and this is the part that I think was just so clever.....Jenny used a sewing pattern to wrap each item - I think that was brilliant.

As you can see from the picture above, I got a lovely shiny pinecone with some acorn friends attached to it - the paint is a really shiny silver, it's going to look so pretty with Christmas lights reflecting off it.

I also got some notepaper with acorns all over it, some shower gel, some of the cutest little acorn earrings (do you think we can just go back to Fall for a little while?), and a pinecone necklace - so delicate.

Then I also got THE cutest salt and pepper shaker set...

Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Thanks again so much Jenny - you were a great partner:->

January's Calendar Shot

Here is the January picture from the calendar doorprize I won. Isn't he just the cutest little bird!?

are you ready?

I've had a couple emails from eager crafters.....who else is ready for me to announce the next theme?


I'm waiting for confirmation of a few more packages being shipped this week. I've not heard from a couple gals so I'm a bit nervous.......

Waahhooooo!

Wow! When I got my box from Kerry, her box was in the car ready to be sent....I went out to the car and brought it back in to "fix" it!! hehehe! Kerry's presentation is amazing!

Every item was in it's own bag with a beautiful topper and the SCRAPBOOK!!! Oh my heck!! It is awesome! Kerry tells about it on her blog so please go visit her. I even got some vintage Valentine cupcake toppers. Thank you Miss Kerry! You should get your box tomorrow!! Jenny

Ok, you all are going to be jealous.......

This afternoon Don told me someone was coming to the door with a big package...I ran to the door and heard the man ask for Melinda....I am running for the door...well, kind of, saying, "me, me it's me..." I saw him giving me a funny look....probably because I was looking my lovliest....unbrushed hair...a ratty t shirt and mens boxer shorts hanging down my legs four sizes to big....Did I see him take a step back....maybe....anyway he told me it was from Kim C and I looked in the van and saw her and gave her a big wave, then I grabbed my surprise......(not really but it sounded good) Kim has been battling asthma and hasnt been able to do much of anything, but look at this package....

She wrote me a nice letter and a Thank you card and then the inside......feel free to drool....First of all she made me two of the cutest pinecone ornaments.....

She recycled a battery box and made me an ornament box for the enchanted swap....I love this....

Inside the compartments all kinds of treasures...A valentine fabric panel, some fabric, denim squares, chandelier crystals, buttons and paper fans.....I just adore it all Kim!

Isnt it wonderful??????
Also because Kim hasnt been feeling well, I thought I would post pictures of what I took to her in her tin....

A painted and wreathed acorn ornament....

A couple of vintage Hankies, a retro fabric panel, some paper ephemera and some costume jewely pieces that I thought she would enjoy.....Thanks again Kim for your generosity, and I hope you feel better soon!

WoOhOo . . . I got my January YoE goodies . . .

I got my package today! My swap partner Robin L. sent me some fun goodies!




WoOhOo! I love this one. A ribbon Pinecone!
Can you guess why? It's HALLOWEEN colors folks! Yeah baby!
Robin says that this is the first time she's done ribbon work like this. I never would have guessed. It's awesome!


Some goodies to enjoy! a hand sewn zipper fabric bag, some cute magnets, a handmade blue sled ornie, a golden pinecone pendant/mini ornie and a package of Faerie and enchanted buttons! I've never seen these and they're cute!
Thank you so much Robin L. I love everything. I loved having you as a partner!

On a side note- I did my part in feeding the birdys this month!


I sliced some oranges and tied them up to the branches! I haven't seen any birds stop by so I wonder if it's the wrong treat for the wrong birds? Hmmm!

I also crumbled up some bread and scattered them around the trees in our side front yard. They came and ate those up right away- I wasn't fast enough to get a snapshot. But I did my part and they were happy! I'm doing more bread crumbs tomorrow too!

Stay Warm!

Be Enchanted!

Send one, get one!

I sent my package out to Sherry about the same time I GOT my package from her!

We both had the same idea in mind...to make something with acorns and pine cones!

Here is what I sent her:



and here is what she sent me

the little round ornie actually has pine cone pieces all around it....just darling!

Thank you Sherry! I love them all!

AN IDEA TO SHARE....

I was sitting thinking yesterday..............you know those sitting staring, not thinking of anything in particular kind of thinks!!!! When suddenly I hit on a great idea (well I think it's great), and I thought it might be worth sharing with all my fellow enchanted swappers.
I have a friend who loves all things enchanted, so I've decided that when I make my theme ornament each month for my partner, I'm going to make a second one for my friend too. I'm going to keep these in a box (which at some point before December I'll get around to decorating) and this box of handcrafted ornaments will be her Christmas gift this year...............there you have it, only January and I can already cross one gift off my Christmas list:-)

I'm excited to see what Val pulls out of the bag for us to do in February..... Don't know about y'all, but I'm loving this swap!!!

WooHoo!!

After waiting for what seemed like forever, my ornament from AwtemNymf finally arrived. I thought the Post Office was holding it hostage lol.   Oh what goodness I did find :)

I opened the box to find all kinds of good things wrapped in green tissue paper. I have to say that I just love seeing a box full of wrapping paper. It is so much fun to unwrap things or to search for things. It reminds me of Easter when we were younger and digging through the grass to find all the candy.

Isn't this the most adorable little nymph?  She is all glittery too. Such cuteness! Now I think I need to go get one of those little trees to hang all these ornaments on.

Thank you so much AwtemNymf...I love everything!!

Enchanted Goodness and a Little Plug

I received a nice package from my January partner, none other than Val herself. I love the crocheted acorns and the pinecone ornament is really cute! I can't wait to make a special little tree up for all of my new ornaments! Val also sent me some cute little ladybug cupcake picks and some yummy tea. Thanks Val!!!

Also, I just wanted to do a little plug on my daughter, Mallory's, Valentines Swap for Kids. You just have to send 5 cards to 5 different people and you will receive 5 cards back. They can be store bought, bought and altered or handmade. Just send me an email (sherryreneew@hotmail.com ). Mallory still needs at least 2 more people to participate.

Thanks!!!

Receiver End of RAK

Today, someone on my street performed a random act of kindness for the whole neighborhood. I'm in charge of the Adopt a Highway clean up of our one mile road. Yesterday, the weather was so gorgeous, I grabbed a couple of trash bags and set out. I made it to the end of the street on one side and loaded one bag. I pulled the other out of my back pocket, did a u-turn and started on the other side. I found the mother-load of beer bottles, Rolling Rock Light to be exact. These green glass bottles quickly filled my orange bag and I couldn't lift it. With more trash along the road, I gathered and made small piles to be picked up tomorrow on the way to the dump.

This morning, I set off with the garbage and recyclables from my house loaded on the truck. I started looking for the piles I had made. They were gone. As I rounded the corner, I found my full orange bag with a smaller white bag beside it. All of the piles I made yesterday had been picked up by an anonymous trash collector! This made me smile! I loaded the bags on the truck and hauled them to the dump. Even the grumpy guy that works there got a smile from me today!

This made me feel so good, I'm going to Starbucks tomorrow, just so I can purchase coffee for the guy behind me!

Have a wonderful day!

Up in the Air!

Finally my parcel to Ramie has been sent!  YAY - it's up in the air flying to you now Ramie from Australia - hope it arrives safely!  Here's a sneek peak!

On its way to Australia...

Yup...my package is...here's a pic of what's inside:
You can see the ornaments on the bottom there, the smallest items in the box. I know, I know, the pics a little fuzzy, but I didn't want to give it all away until Natalie received it all. And, just so you all know, I really liked how Awtemnymf showed her teaser pic, so I did a quick search online for a free image editor and found LunaPic, which, after playing with it for 15 minutes, I came up with the pic above. And its free! So Natalie, your package is in the mail!

And for you future ornament swappers that will be sending to Australia, you can't do Delivery Confirmation. You can do 1st class Parcel and then Register your package and that will give us delivery confirmation and a tracking number that we can track. And, if you like to wrap your packages in brown paper (AKA recycled paper grocery bag) like I do, then you cannot use the typical clear plastic-y mailing tape, you have to use the "paper tape", which he retaped at the counter with. I have never heard of this, but I think it's also cuz it's going to Australia. AND...if all this information is false or not accurate, it's my post office's fault...not mine. :)

Thank you Val!!

Thank you Val!

I L♥ve my Calendar!! The artwork is so cool - simple yet sophisticated.

It's hanging by my desk so I can see it while I work on the computer.

And Thank you for the bookmark. I can always use a bookmark! I'm such a bookworm!

Chorus Line Cuties

I thought Christmas had come again when I opened the box Gin sent me! She knows how to spoil a person!


Gin made me the cutest Chorus Line Garland of Girls! The girls are made with pine cone bodies and are strung on a Christmas ribbon. Aren't they cutest with their little red hats??? And if that weren't enough! She hand painted me a pine cone on a piece of clear acrylic. Complete with a pretty ribbon, ready for hanging. It's going in my kitchen window! Love it!!! And then she also sent me two glitter pine cone candles. I just know Christmas is here again!!
Thank you Gin!!

January YoE Teaser

Here's a Teaser for my January entry for the YoE swap. This is going to Robin L.


Some teaser eh? *giggles*
I'll post the FULL reveal once I have confirmation that my swap partner Robin has received it! Hope you like it!

Be Enchanted~ AwtemNymf

How cute

My ornie from Jeanne was super great. Being the artist that she is, I couldn't wait to see it.
She made real-life looking pine cones. And a pretty flowered bag to keep things in. This will be perfect to put some keepsake jewelry in I have that was passed down to me.

Here is a close of the the pine cone ornie. The detail is fantastic. Each row of the pine cone is so distinct. It seems to be made of felt. Very soft.

Thank you Jeanne. You are so talented.

I'm going to do what Courtney did and put up a little tree and hang my ornies every month till Christmas..

Home delivery....

Today I had to go into Salt Lake City so I hand delivered Kim's package to her doorstep.....I havent heard from her at all, I hope things are well with you Kim..........Here is the package.....

I will let her show you what is inside......

No birds for me

I've decided to not take part in feeding the birds this month. We live in SW Florida (Cape Coral) in a decently populated area. There used to be only 3 houses in our neighborhood but now there's around 25. We used to have lots of birds and even some foxes that would come by regularly to get a bite to eat. After the area started developing around 5 years ago the wildlife has mostly disappeared. I don't mind that the skunks found a new home but we do miss the birds and foxes.

What we do have is giant Turkey Vultures. I took this picture standing at my back door. The vultures found something across the back road. It must have been a small creature because we had a dozen vultures stop by but only a couple stayed around for a daytime snack.

This one fle right over our heads and ended up coming back to land next to our house. These birds stand 2 feet tall and have wing spans of up to 6 feet across. It is amazing to see them sitting a few feet away.

We've tried all kinds of things to attract birds to our yard. Bird seed, peanut butter items, bread, popcorn, cereal...no visitors. Every once in awhile we will see some smaller birds come by to steal a sip from out grapefruits but that is it.

For my RAOK I have knit a couple hats to send to an online friend that is knitting for her local hospital. She is trying to meet a goal she has set for herself and I want to help out throughout the year. I was hoping to make more by now but have had a few orders that took up lots of my time.