Last week a friend sent me a link to some fantastic old photos of turn of the century boxers. I knew right away that they should be fighting bumble bees and wasps so I made these little collages last night.



They are tiny. Just 2" x 2.75" Here's a few up close...

Phew! It's been quiet around here 

I thought that some of you might like this project. It's probably the very simplest wee house you can make...



It's 2 and a half cd jewel cases glued together and embellished. Easy peasy!

I made this for a design audition and created a how-to video for it HERE Excuse me being a total crafting dork... I was excited 

I made this little greenhouse for a video audition for Graphic 45.



It's made from old cd jewel cases and papery bits.



If you want to see me gushing like a paper dork in my 'how-to' video, you can find it here

I've just been accepted as a design team member for Graphic45 (Holy smokes!) and I wanted to create something that completely inspired by their papers. Soooo, I created this 'French Bundle' which was dreamed up for their French Country collection. The papers made me think of fresh linens, tablecloths and colourful curtains in a little French cottage. I thought to myself "Wouldn't it be wonderful to find a bundle of memories tucked away in an old drawer while vacationing in France?" And so that's what I made...







The pieces are not bound. The little bits are tied together with a ribbon. It's meant to be opened and explored and touched.



There's old French postcards, vintage photographs and stamps, old bits of paper and even a love note in there.



The little pages are ATC's and each sort of represents a memory or experience...







And when the looker is all done, the pieces can be gathered back up for someone else to enjoy another time.

Prepare to pin!

Looky, what I received from the fabulous racky. It's bloody glorious....



A Doubtful Guest box, and some teeny Ghastly children forever entombed in a magnet tin and the most darling chilling little charm.



Racky, your work always astounds me in its meticulousness. You must have some damned nimble fingers. Thanks bunches!

A very short while ago I held a little auction to raise a few dollars for a project I'm working on. I was going to create a Borrower's Box for the auction winner. The winner happened to be a very sweet lady who lives not TOO far away and she actually dropped off a fair few bits and bobs to include in the piece. There was loads of lacy bits and misc little bobs that had been passed own to her. I tried to include as many of those sweet little things and snippets as I possibly could.

After a fair bit of ho-ing and hum-ing I managed to complete the task and the winner picked up her wee 'house' today and I'm glad to say she was pleased with the result.



This clock has been in my stash for quite a while. Sometimes when I'm stuck creatively I'll clean... when I came across this I knew it would be the perfect base for a little creatures home.



The inside is hollow and made a perfect (albeit small) space. Here you can see the roof top terrace where a someone has enjoyed a spot of tea.



Here's an overview of the inside. It's quite tight in there, but filled with nice little things.



A detail shot of a little table with a bowl of a rose petals and a clothes peg bench.



A fireplace with a gorgeous little cast iron cauldron and metal button she supplied.



Upstairs there's a match stick ladder leading to a sleeping loft. On the wall are some of the heirloom embroidered bits she supplied. You can see a stack of handmade miniature books and a birthday candle at the end of the bed.



Pretty things at the bottom of the ladder.



A matchbox bed with blankets made with vintage lacy bits. AND check out the size of that dolly. Believe it or not the limbs actually move! Plus, look at the mico-embroidery provided by the client.



Finally, here's a little spot for a little embroider. Filled with spools, needle and thread, lace and some very sweet vintage french stamps. And, if you look in the upper right corner, you can see that the flooring is held up by snails!

It was such a pleasure creating this little space and a great honor to use little heirlooms to make it even more special.

I'm taking part in an Altered Oz blog party today. I've been wanting to make a lightbulb hot air balloon for a while... I've seen a number of them on pinterest... so when we went to the new Oz flick and there was the Wizard being tossed about in a hot air balloon I knew just what I was going to make...

Sorry I've been so silent here. I lost my regular job in in January and I've been working like a crazy person with freelance stuff...

ANYWAY I picked up my package from tapestrymlp last night and took it with me to the kid's karate class. I opened it there (because I have ZERO patience) and "Yay!"ed with delight right there and then.

Here's why...



Isn't he fabulous?! He's so big, and squishy, and lovely! I adore him.

I don't think I told tapestrymlp this but I had seen a really big gnome in a shop and told my husband that I wanted him for Christmas. When he went back they were sold out. But now I have an even bigger and better one!

I'd love to keep him on the couch to snuggle with but I'm afraid my pooch, Padfoot, is a little enamoured with the gnome too. His eyes lit up and his tail wagged like mad when I brought him home. He was sorely disappointed when he realized it wasn't for him 

Thanks tapestrymlp! I love him 

A little arty-fart papery project.

The tree is twisted brown paper lunch bags, almost everything else is paper too... except for the moss. I swear I'm addicted to using that stuff.





A close up of the base, which uses THESE paper mache boxes (without the lids).



And one more from the other side.

I captured a pesky Cornish Piskie and put her in a box.



Very dangerous of me to remove the lid, I could have lost a finger! Thanks to a nibble of cake, she was appeased for a short while and I was only nipped at twice. The lid, once again, is firmly in place.



The box measures just 5" tall so she's quite tiny. She is made from polymer clay (which doesn't like me or my hot hands one bit) Her antenna are single strands of fur. Between the particular red of the box, reflections in the glass on the front and the size of the piece... it was a nightmare to photograph. Grrrrr.