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!!!

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!

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.

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!!!)

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!

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!

GIVEAWAY

This is my second giveaway on this blog, and I am so infinitely excited about them!

As a matter of fact, I love these wings so much, I second guessed the whole thing because they very well may be my favorite wings to date- and I have made a LOT of wings!!!

Here: Take a peak at the lovely things that YOU or your daughter could be wearing soon!

(Orange butterfly is removable)

See the iridescence?

Curious how to enter?

Well, I'm going to give you A LOT of chances to win this pair of my FAVORITE wings!!!

Contest dates: TODAY, September 30 - Thursday, October 7th

***VERY IMPORTANT: If you qualify for ANY of these entries, I need you to COMMENT and tell me ALL of the things you have done to earn entries. For example, if you grab my button or blog about my giveaway, I might not know unless you tell me!!!*****

1. YOU MUST BE A U.S. RESIDENT! (I am SO SORRY! It just costs a LOT of money to send these out of the country!!!)

2. For a grand total of 3 ENTRIES, BLOG about my giveaway to get more traffic to this site!

3. 1 ENTRY- FOLLOW ME! And for an additional entry, if you hop on over to my OTHER blog (the mainstream one about being a SAHM) at http://www.becauseidontscrapbook.blogspot.com/ and FOLLOW ME THERE TOO!!!

4. 1 ENTRY- Grab my button!!! This counts for either THIS blog's button or the one on http://www.becauseidontscrapbook.blogspot.com/ - and YES!!! If you grab both, you can get 2 ENTRIES!!!

5. 1 LAST ENTRY- Leave a comment on a DIFFERENT post of mine here, or at http://www.becauseidontscrapbook.blogspot.com/ - once again, yes, doing it in both places earns you an extra entry!

As you can tell, not only is this giveaway something that I want to do because A-My wings are awesome and I want to share them with you (and possibly sell some- hint, hint: http://www.gossamerjewelbox.etsy.com/ ) B- I LOVE MY READERS and it's such a wonderful way to say THANKS! C-Duh- to get more followers...

BUT...I'm trying to direct more traffic to my SAHM blog too.

Good luck with the contest friends!! You have a week!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Sneak Peak at Upcoming GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is Wordless Wednesday over at 5 Minutes For Mom - by all means, hop on over and link up!

Today, my wordless Wednesday is meant to give you a sneak peek at my upcoming giveaway!!! To see more stunning pictures of these GORGEOUS sunflower fairy wings, please visit my I am NOT a VOLCANO blog.

Tomorrow (THURSDAY) visit EITHER of my blogs for instructions on HOW TO ENTER the giveaway!!!

So, in an effort to blog more often, in addition to fairy stories and so on, I will be including occasional reviews, recommendations, and expressions of desire for all things Faerie. Such articles will include etsy stores, books, other fairy blogs and so forth.

For my first, I'll go ahead and plug for myself! LOL!

Please visit http://www.gossamerjewelbox.etsy.com/ to purchase beautiful, custom Faerie Wings.

These are the MOST authentic wings you will EVER find. Gorgeous, and ethereal, you simply can NOT go wrong with a pair of these wings.

Also available on my etsy site are beautiful (and cheap, I might add) hand made rings of swirly wire and shiny glass beads.

Please visit my shop! I would LOVE to hear from you!!!

AND DON'T FORGET: GIVEAWAY TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON!!!!

Believe me- you do NOT want to miss this one!

Blog hop

I have never done a blog hop before- but I need followers, readers, and blogs to read and review!!! So play along with us and link up!

Upcoming Giveaway, friends!!!!

Yes! Very soon- hopefully by the beginning of next week, I will be able to announce a new giveaway, and post, along with pictures, the requirements for an entry!!!!

Stay tuned! Tell your friends! Don't miss this!

All the Gold of Autumn!

Twice a week or more, I drive a 45 minute distance around a mountain, and into the city to take my kids to preschool. It's a tedious drive, not only for myself, but also my children, who, despite two years of driving there regularly, cannot let me escape a single trip without the ever immortal phrase most ready on children's lips: Are we almost there?!

My answer, of course, is always yes. Even if we've just begun our trip. Because if the answer is 'no', I am answered to with cries, whines, and "I'm carsick!".

The trip around the mountain is actually quite pretty, though, despite the fact that mining into the center of the range has rendered the immediate premises barren of all Fae. The mountain is simply littered with the ruins of Dwarves, though, only those versed in their habits would realize it.

There once was a door to the Never-Never on the lake, though, with it's receding waters, which causes it to become constantly more saturated with salt, voiding it of any life at all besides the brine shrimp, that too has become dead.

Any Faerie on the mountain has died. Or if they are hibernating for the time being, awaiting the day when their land shall become theirs again, I pity the souls of those who are around to witness their waking.

Still, as the autumn air sets in, complete with shorter days, cooler temperatures, and rich colors, my children and i all find ourselves in awe at the vast patches of tall, wild sunflowers.

I do think some pictures are in order.

Stay tuned, check back. Hoping to post some within the next week or so.

"...every time a child says, 'I don't believe in fairies,' there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead."

On a regular basis, my 4 year old son will tell me "Mom, I don't believe in Faeries."

Well, okay then, my little Fae touched boy. Of course, though, he believes in Santa Claus, and won't stop terrifying Scarlet about the Brownie that SURELY lives within our walls, because late at night he hears him knocking.

I'm also pretty sure that Mahone believes in Jedi.

So why is it so hard to believe in Faeries?

Well, believe it or not, I do know the severe difficulty that many face in today's society when the choice to believe in Faeries is presented.

It's simple. Science says no. (Though, my husband, having evolved into a deep thinking and distractingly open-minded Anthropologist over the last year and a half, would beg to differ. From an Anthropological standpoint, one must approach any situation, be it voodoo, or evolution, or lore, or even Faeries, with the mind set that yes, this particular thing very well may be THE true thing while everything else lies in sordid fakeness. He also says that the definition of "myth" is everyone else's religion.)

But science also says no to God. And I believe that God, who created science in the first place, also created Faeries.

Or rather, He created an earth that is most assuredly alive and vibrant in spirit. An earth whose trees and mountains and droplets of water possess spirits, very much like our own, encased inside our bodies. Indeed, even rocks and seashells have a spiritual manifestation. Lucky for earthy things, though, it happens to be a lot easier for them to separate their physical forms from their spiritual forms- which also, in most cases, happen to be as tangible as their more real physical form. After all, a mountain or a tree or lake whose spirit were dormant within it's solid body would nearly cease to BE alive.

It's difficult to explain. But the reason for that is that it's difficult to understand. While Faeries are most technically referred to as Elementals, or the physical manifestations of natures elements, not every snowflake has a spirit. Not every single tree has it's own humanoid form. Not every single lake has a lady. In fact, a lone Dryad may be the spirit of an entire, vast, forest with one specific tree that is her very essence.

Some Faeries, like the Tooth Faeries that I have previously written about, don't really seem to have any kind of element that they specifically represent. The same goes for the Queens, and the rest of the High Sidhee, who seem to exist on their own aside from an affiliation to a summer or winter court.

Some Faeries are manifestations of invisible, or emotional elements. Cupid, for example, is the manifestation of love (and/or lust), and Nymphs are like unto him. Others, such as Jack In Irons or Redcaps are born and formed out of the elements of fear and bad dreams while Father Time is the being who came to be because of an ever marching, endlessly running element that is without our control.

The list goes on. Some are just more obviously connected to nature than others. And some Faeries we may never understand in reference to their connection to the earth, except that at some point, they sprang forth to become what they are. And God does not make mistakes. So we must know that they all have their place.

Furthermore, it is important to observe the life lines of Faeries.

The earth does not pass away as our mortal bodies do. The rocks do not avalanche into a crevice and bleed mineral blood. Water, though it forever moves, changes, and evaporates, never truly disappears.

The physical bodies of Faeries are incredibly complex. Any man who has been enticed by a Nymph or Elf will tell you that they are very real indeed. To touch one, which a person most assuredly CAN do, is beyond description. Changelings are people who are half Faerie and half human, and cannot, because of their human tainted blood, survive in the ethereal world of the Fae, which is to say, that they are unable to veil themselves for protection or travel between the planes. To have been born of a Faerie mother doesn't just imply, but confirms that a Faerie's physical form is very alive and tangible.

Daily, we as humans, die. We age, we grow. We develop laugh lines, and one day, we pass on.

Faeries, though, once again, astound us with their complexities. Plenty of Fae never age at all. Titania and Mab, for example, are ageless in their appearance, have ALWAYS been so. Much of the highest of the Sidhe are this way. Puck, Pan, Oberon.

Father Time is by far one of the most mind bending Faeries there is. Each year, he is reborn, a slick and wet and screaming baby, fresh to the world and void of anything foul to weigh on his innocent mind, which allows him to continue the year, aging at a rapid pace, with the conscience of a child. Throughout the year, his mind begins to weigh heavy, and his body grows old and bearded in white, hunched over and ready to find solace in another year, another slate clean to the touch. Resolution, reborn.

And yet, Faeries CAN, in fact, die. Elves and Dwarfs, for example, are quite possibly the very closest related Fae to humans, and while their lives extend for near a thousand years, and possibly even longer, they are as susceptible to frailty and harm as humans are. Flower Fairies, it is possible, possess the shortest life span of them all. They only live for a short season. Trees die eventually, and so do their respective Dryads.

Really, when all is said and done, it is impossible to really understand Faeries, and their forms, their life cycles, and when it comes down to it, the question is: Does it matter?

No. It doesn't.

And if you don't believe in Faeries, for the most part, they don't care. Tinkerbell said that whenever someone says they don't believe in Faeries, a Faerie somewhere falls down dead, and she wasn't lying, really. But she wasn't telling the truth either.

Tinkerbell is a complex little thing in and of herself, and a story for another day. But suffice it to say that most Faeries are pathological liars. They have very little, if any, morality, and if she said that Faeries die when disbelieved, then, at that very moment, she probably believed it herself. But it probably served to get her what she wanted somewhere down the line.

Lets see what happens

Around a year ago, I wrote a post that was similar to what I'm about to write. I apologize, but for the moment, everything else I have to say is mediocre, and just life, life, life.

At the beginning of the summer, before it became hot enough for me to cocoon myself into my house, wrapped within the cool walls of an air conditioned haven, I became pregnant with my fourth child!

I have spent the majority of the summer sick as a dog. At least, though, I would have been shut up inside anyways. The summer heat is stifling. In fact, it seems my children have followed in my summer-loathing footsteps. While I might banish them outside for an hour with the sprinklers on in order for me to gain a space of solitude amid my nausea and pounding headaches, instead of writhing in the cool water, they avoid it and lay in the shade as though the sun will make them melt like the Popsicles in their hands.

Yes, I would have been inside for the most part anyway. But I regret missing the lavish and ever so willing to cooperate Faeries of spring, celebrating under their queen, Titania. It is far easier to catch a faerie of the summer court than it is to catch one from the winter court.

Of course, though, it is August now, and the summer will be drawing to an end soon. As always, I feel it like a pulse.

This morning, it was cool, and it rained for most of the day. Feeling decent for once, I woke early and baked home made blueberry muffins. I had been craving them dripping with butter, warm, and soft. Their scent filled my house, and with the overcast sky as a mural against my window, and the air conditioner, ever running, crisping my kitchen air, I shrugged on a thermal shirt and warm pajama pants and relished the chilliness.

It may stay hot for another month...or maybe even through Hallows eve. But my old friend Jack Frost is stirring from his summer slumber.

Tomorrow, I will bake a loaf or two of zucchini bread, spread it with butter, and plan for egg nog and cream of pumpkin soup simmering in my pot.

Can't wait! Lets hope the winter faeries find welcome in their hearts for me.

The tooth fairy

Once again, I have no pictures. And I'm not sure I'll ever have pictures of a tooth fairy, new camera lens or not. I fear that I will be breaking many hearts once again with my tale of the tooth fairy, but it needs to be said. Yet another time will I delve into the reality of the Faerie world, and reveal the perilous and sinister nature of the land that modern day people have begun to think of as enchanted. Indeed, things are not what they seem.





For a few years now, I've been fighting my kids to brush their teeth with a nightly threat that if they don't take care of them, their teeth will fall out, and then where will they be when they want to enjoy a chewy snack? Hm?





Unfortunately, my threat has backfired now that my 5 year old has discovered that her teeth will fall out anyway, and it has nothing to do with how well she cleans her teeth. The most exciting part about this is that there will inevitably be a visit from something called a tooth fairy. Lilly is 100% convinced that she will receive a present, as though the little beast were akin to Santa Clause or the Easter bunny.



As a child, I received money. And the tooth fairies that visited me were generous. My husband said that the tooth fairies who came and took his teeth were stingy, and he would get a quarter per tooth at best, with less money if it had a filling.





Most people and children imagine the tooth fairy as a woman, with lovely locks of curly hair, pink wings, a wand and a tutu. They are sorely mistaken, and if one saw a true tooth fairy, they might be terrified, and flush their child's tooth down the toilet instead of allow them to place it under their pillow.





Tooth fairies are not ONE lovely lady, but in fact, they are a tiny race of winged fairy related to the Ogre, the same way that raccoons are related to panda bears. They are roughly the size of a woman's thumbnail, and swarms of them live in hives, though they don't seem to have a queen that they report to. Generally, tooth fairies belong to the winter court, yet their summer hibernation is restless and they wake frequently to search for food- which happens to be bones. (Remember how Ogres grind your bones for bread? Yeah...well, makes a lot of sense now, how tooth fairies are related to Ogres, doesn't it?)



Tooth fairies travel much like a bat does, with sound that reverberates and tells them where objects are. Since you now know that this is the way they get around, it shouldn't be a surprise that they don't have eyes at all, only smooth indents of skin where eyes should be. They are genderless, with a gray, whitish color of skin and teeth as sharp as razors.





A swarm of these could be quite dangerous if it were big enough. (Dipping ones hand into a pool of piranhas come to mind.) However, unlike swarming insects, such as honey bees or wasps or ants, Tooth Fairies have zero organization. They live together simply because there is safety in numbers, but they are greedy and selfish and do not share the location of their gatherings. Chaos reigns among them.





Luckily for us, since Tooth Fairies are so tiny, one whole tooth does more than enough to satisfy their appetite for a long period of time.



Unfortunately for us, if we sleep with our mouths open, we are subject to the possibility of a tiny fairy swooping in for a dainty nibble on our pearly whites, leaving what dentists call a 'cavity' in it's wake.





As far as money goes, we must never forget that while we find that Tooth Fairies are chaotic and nasty little things, they also, naturally, must adhere to fairy rules and customs. You leave them a tooth, they usually leave you money, or a gift, or ....something.

The problem with this is that their being bound to give you something in return for your tooth means that it can be anything- and usually the money, stick of gum, or even the butterscotch hard candy- ahem- wrapper, comes from Mom's purse that's lying open on the table, or dad's wallet that has been tossed on the coffee table as opposed to the Tooth Fairy's own personal stash. Tooth fairies, unlike other fairies, are not very organized and do not keep tabs on things like this. they live to survive as opposed to living to thrive.


Anyway, it's been done for thousands of years, and in my research I have still been unable to find a single account of anyone being killed by a Tooth Fairy or even many tooth fairies. They're scary, demonic little things, but really, they're harmless. Let your kid have their extra coins. But try to make sure they sleep with their mouths closed.

Spring, and the entry of the Summer court.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures to offer you, as my camera lens is broken. I am currently working on either getting it fixed or buying a new lens. In the mean time, you just have to deal with my lack of pictures.

Anyway, spring is in the air. Essentially, that means that there is a lot of wishy-washiness between the winter and summer courts.

For example, this morning started out bright and shiny at 45 degrees with the birds chirping wildly and bees busy building nests in all the nooks and crannies of my back yard. My children excitedly picked dandelions, which adorn my windowsills and my table, and my counter...and probably the washing machine too as my son brought me a few while I was down there loading laundry.

The day reached a solid 70 degrees before dipping into the low 40's again, with deep dark rain clouds and a whipping wind perfect for kite flying.

Some would say that that's spring in Utah. You get the whole range in one day.

Partially, this is true. Weather is a bi product of the Fae, not something that they consciously DO. But while the Summer Court is busy flinging it's romance into the air, Winter, particularly the young ones of it's court, is fighting the long hibernation it will take, like a child who makes excuses before bed time.

While I know that before long, I will be longing for the cool breezes of autumn, right now, I am anticipating the Summer Solstice, where the summer Fae will masquerade until midnight in their celebration of the first day of summer, and it will be much easier for me to capture them on film. After all, it IS the Summer Court who regularly lures men away. They want to be seen, they like to be known. Soon, I will have more pictures.

This is such a 'normal' tutu baby pic, and I personally do NOT feel that real faeries wear tutus...but it is my fave. And it's FREAKING CUTE!

I am uber impressed with this one. Shhh! Don't disturb the newborn fae!