Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Advise for anybody - enjoy what you are doing, enjoy the process of learning and don't be impatient. -Robin Cousins

A mark of the Fae is that they are impatient. Very few of them can wait long for anything, and most of the time, they loose interest in activities and tasks very quickly. (It's no wonder that even the most skilled little craftsmen, cobblers and tailors never finish their projects unless bribed generously. I mean, you'll likely never find a leprechaun that has ever maid a PAIR of shoes. They only ever craft one.) A fairy that does good work all the time and consistently finishes is not any more ambitious than his peers, he is simply displaying another mark of the Fae: Obsessive-Compulsiveness.




I happen to be just as impatient.




As impatience is almost a required..ahem...quality...ahem...of the Faeries, so is creativity. They always must be creating, making, doing, and so on. But if anything is to be finished, there must be a satisfactory level of instant gratification.




I happen to be just as creative. And it has to show success very quickly, or else, I am ashamed to admit, I quit.




Honestly. In the deep, dark corner of my yet unfinished basement, there is a shelf. Upon that shelf is stacked, until it overflows, the remnants and collections of all my rotating hobbies.



Of course, on the top shelf, where it's easily accessible without having to move too much junk, my wire, spray adhesive, glitter, 15 different colors of glass paint and cellophane for wing making is heaped in a basket, and piled in several large garbage bags on the floor are the scores of flowers and leaves and ribbons and moss and so on that I use to decorate said wings and any costumes I might throw together. Speaking of costumes, two GIANT plastic storage bins full of costumes are stacked against the wall on the other side of the shelf. These are things I still use and will probably always use at least off and on- so at least that hobby isn't a complete waste of time and money.




Below that, two large plastic containers are chock-full of polymer modeling clay from a stint I took in sculpting Fairies. Brandon, my ever doting dragon of a husband, was amazing and supportive enough to buy me multiple bricks of expensive baby skin colored clay, and brick upon brick of smaller sculpy clay of varying colors.Along side those containers, at least seven different instructional books on how to sculpt fairies, dragons, cartoon figurines, life like figures and even some about making patterned beads. In a wooden treasure chest, patches of dyed Tibetan lambskin/hair in probably 12 different colors (for the sculpted fairies' hair), miniature glass eyes of all colors, soldering iron, armature wire, and any other miniature tidbits are stuffed for safekeeping.




A box of random and regularly used tools: Needle nosed pliers, several sizes and differently shaped screw drivers, knives, toothpicks, more wire, hot glue and gun, and varying dental tools.




More baskets full of yarn from my crocheting stint are piled against the wall. One more thing that was beautiful, but took too long to accomplish.



The lower shelves of my stash are full of books of instruction on photography, sewing- along with many MANY sewing patterns that I never learned how to follow- flower arranging, quilting (which I did very well at for awhile), wreath making, piles upon piles of books about fairies, and lore and legends and how to conjure them.



Not displayed on any shelf are the years of ballet, tap, Irish dancing, ice skating, gymnastics, ballroom dance, saxophone, and piano lessons that I took.




My husband is no stranger to this pattern either. He has a 6 foot foam board castle he painstakingly built for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign he mastered, and at least one of my shelves is dedicated solely to his D&D books and supplies for building landscapes and such playing boards.




I can't seem to bring myself to get rid of any of it though. I might need it for something.




Once, I asked Brandon if it irritated him, the money and time I spend on hobbies I never finish or stick to, and he only laughed and said "You don't have tons of hobbies. You only have one hobby: Fairies. And everything else you do pertains to that."



Well, then. I guess that IS true.



So, for my newest hobby, and something I hope very desperately to thrive at, so stick to, and to maybe be able to make some money on, I am learning to upcycle sweaters. I have made 2 sweaters so far, with a zig zag stitch on my regular sewing machine. Scarlet's sweater is pretty boring and dull. I made it out of what I had lying around. So, I intend to make her something else, now that I have a serger- Brandon, again, very wonderfully being supportive, got me a serger for Christmas. (Trouble is, I don't know how to use it!!!)



Lilly's, also made with my zig zag machine before I received my serger, is much more intricate and I must say I am very happy with the outcome- hers is made from multiple black and white patterned sweaters. It's adorable. And I haven't yet taken pictures of it on her because I need to make button holes on it and I don't know how.



Hopefully, someday soon, I will be good enough to produce items such as this:














(To find her on etsy, search Katwise. Though, she doesn't do custom orders, and it's near impossible to nab one of her masterpieces....which is why I decided to make my own.)







Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust.

Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust

Pixie Dust. Tinkerbell, our dear fairy friend, has made Pixie Dust one of those universal things that everyone wants and wonders about. Now a days, it's automatically connected to Fairies of all kinds and shapes and sizes, and the truth of the matter is that there IS only SOME truth to this matter.

As of this weekend, I am the proud owner of 25 different kinds of "Pixie Dust", collected by no easy feats.

Of course, the vials are not larger than 3 inches each, and they're not labeled yet, which I really need to do in order to ensure proper use, but I am positively thrilled at the successful outcome of my efforts.







So, the question we pose is: What IS Pixie Dust?

Believe it or not, not all Faeries have Pixie Dust. Only the winged Fae do, and not only specifically the Pixies. Pixies, Tooth Fairies, Sprites, Sylphs and Zephyrs...to name only a few. I collected 25 samples, and that's only a very small number. It also extends to Dryads, though, in a lesser degree, as they don't have wings, but they are a larger and more hearty and stable relation to the Flower Fairies, who DO have wings.

Have you ever held a butterfly or moth in your hands? Especially as a careless child, did you ever notice the patterns of dust across your palms? Pixie Dust is much the same, though touching a Fairy's wings does not usually damage them the way a butterfly's wings or a moth's wings can be when touched. The simple reason is that a winged Fairy does not have a set amount of it. It's a byproduct that simply drips off of them. They're doused in it like water, soaking them to the bone, and it falls off of them wherever they go.

I love Peter Pan. I always have. I love reading the book, and I love the movies, no matter their discrepancies.

One of the most accurate things about the story's main Fairy, Tinkerbell, is how she exudes dust. You see trails of it as she flies, glowing and glittering to the ground. She simply moves and it sluffs off of her.









(at about 2:15- I absolutely love how Peter spanks her to shake off the dust. She looks so positively shocked and irritated. )









(45 seconds)

Does Pixie Dust make you fly? Coupled with happy thoughts, faith and/or trust?

No. Pixie Dust cannot make you fly. The only suspected possible flight enabling substance of the Fairy world happens to be RAGWORT, and even that is only hearsay for humans.
What Pixie Dust DOES do is grow things.
We are all familiar with Fairy rings, where one can spot, in the grass, a ring of darker grass, perhaps peppered with mushrooms. Pixie Dust is responsible for either of the marks. Mushrooms in your grass are a sure sign that a Fairy is around.


Of course, Pixie Dust doesn't just leave behind charming and welcome things, like the mushrooms growing like stairs up that oak tree out back, or the bright blue Lichen across mountain rocks, and soft grassy moss in the crotch of a tree- no doubt the very spot where our suspected Fairy rests her dear little head. Brambles-thorny bushes without any real use, Gypsum Weed- a hallucinogen that, used properly will make you THINK you're flying, pond scum and algae are also byproducts of a Fairy letting his or her Dust sprinkle without care.

I cannot wait to use my collected Dust. The outcomes will be wonderful, I am sure.

Don't worry- I'll post pictures!!!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Pixie Dust. (Story about topic to follow tomorrow!!!)

PIXIE DUST:
Made from real Fairies.
(Join me tomorrow for the story!)
And don't forget to mosy on over to www.5minutesformom.com to link up for wordless wednesday!











Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Lilly's House Fairy

Today is the last day to get your entries into my Fairy Wings Giveaway!!! Please click the link to see these beautiful, hand crafted wings, and learn how to enter!


Lilly's House Fairy
Three days ago, Brandon spent awhile in our front yard bedecking the front of our home with fake spiders webs for the Halloween season.
It's October. It's supposed to be chilly. The leaves are supposed to be changing and this is supposed to be my favorite season.
But I was lounging like a beached whale (I'm not kidding. You should SEE this pregnant belly of mine.) on the couch inside my air conditioned living room due the fact that it had gotten to about 98 degrees outside.
My kids were writhing in their joyous Halloween expectations, though, bouncing around the yard, squealing about pumpkins and their anticipated Halloween costumes.
But Lilly found something pretty extraordinary.
She came running in through the front door, my fairly authentic wicker witch broom swaying against the red painted wood, screaming "MOM!!!! I FOUND A FAIRY!!!!!!!!!!"
I sat up, of course very interested, and inspected the item she held in her little hands.








Indeed, she had found a fairy.
It's been months since we've seen these. Back in May and June they crowded in all the corners of our yard, against fences, in crevices, the crooks of trees and just about everywhere else.
Summer Faeries.
Of course, they're just veils.
A fairy may manifest it's physical form to a person if they want to, while at the same time remaining veiled to other's eyes. And sometimes, they may maintain their veil, and simply insist on staying put. Like a moth that always finds it's way back into your home.
After examining our little fairy, I told Lilly not to hurt her, but to put her back outside. In doing so, she skipped back into the house "Mommy, she doesn't want to go! She stuck to my shirt!"
I didn't really know what to say- it's rare that a fairy will pledge loyalty to a person. So Lilly closed the gap.
"Mom, I think I'll put her in my music box. Fairies like shiny things."
Lilly checks on her daily, and keeps a mirror, coins and keys in her box- among the costume jewelry expected in a 5-year-old's special box.
So far, Lilly's house fairy seems happy here.












Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

Two more days left, friends, in my fantastic Fairy Wings Giveaway!!! Please click the link to see these beautiful, hand crafted wings, and learn how to enter!



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Wordless Wednesday
(Click the above link to LINK UP!!!)












Monday, October 4, 2010

Blue Fairy


Please don't forget that my Gorgeous Wings Giveaway!!!
ends this week on THURSDAY! Don't miss your chance! Click the link and get your entries IN!
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Look closely- I made the crown too!










Thursday, September 30, 2010

Giveaway, and Alex

PLEASE stop by today and enter the GIVEAWAY for a pair of my gorgeous Authentic Faerie Wings!!!!
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Some pictures sent to me by a happy wearer of my lovely wings!!! Isn't she beautiful? The last one is my favorite!