Some Fruits of Our Labors

A Fairy Courting Chair

Fairy Coat Rack

Fairy Twin Bed Frames

Another Fairy Fort

A Fairy Picnic Table with Bowls of Food

Fairy Sleeping Loft

A Fairy Rocking Horse

Make sure to check out Annie's creations over at Goofing Off!

The song is Don't Go by Forest City Lover

Fairy Village

Annie and I are back to building fairy structures here in the studio. Wow, how time can fly by...the scent of hot glue, eucalyptus leaves, twigs and hanging out with my girl.
I'm amazed at how quickly our studio can go from a sewing studio to a fairy factory! A complete change of gears. I really do love working with so many materials and mediums. For instance, I've got a few new paintings in me crying to get out! I have the canvases prepared so maybe next we will shift to a painters studio. I'd love to see what Annie might come up with too.

I love this piece, Always With Me, Always With You by Joe Satriani

Back to Green

I've said before that I don't have a favorite color, but green is a color that moves me so! Something transformational happens to me. I feel happy and hopeful and full of wonder. All the shades and hues, all the variegation and variety of greens fill me with contentment.

I took these photos Sunday while walking in the Oakland hills with Bill and Annie. What was most notable from our time in the woods was the sound of bees! Either we were near a hive, or hives, or it was just a great day to be out and about for all species. We collected some small stones from the brook plus some moss covered pieces of bark for our terrariums.

Oh yes. And we saw a beautiful fairy girl resting near the trunk of a tree. She reminded me of someone...

The sounds - Relax With the Sounds and Sights of Nature

This time last year on MakingPeace.

Sniffles

Annie and I are getting over a light case of the sniffles so we canceled our plan to go visit Pop at work, and instead we tinkered around the studio all day. Since talking about our Fairy Village in my last post, I decided to take some pictures of it. I was also inspired to do so because a friend of mine in Santa Cruz called up wanted to get a few pieces for her little daughter who has a imaginary fairy world going on in their backyard.

All the structures, furniture and belongings are created by Annie and I. All of the fairy characters shown here are made by me, and I completely credit the brilliant Salley Mavor. I bought her book Felt Wee Folk years ago when Annie was tiny and have made dolls based on her patterns since. I went on to make my version of Mermaids, then created my own Frida & Diego dolls from there.

Our Fairy Village expands and contracts all the time. Annie is always adding stuff. I've sold pieces, given them as gifts, and Jasper has eaten whole townships. We have a amassed a huge amount of 'building materials' on our hikes and I think we might be entering a new fairy building phase. Click on the photos to see close-up details.

Nuts About Miniatures

I love miniatures. I'm drawn to anything that has an unusual scale. Evidence here. I also love working with nuts, twigs and leaves. Annie and I have an ongoing Fairy Village that we are always working on and collecting for. So when I saw this recent post of Ulla's my heart skipped a beat. Not only are they miniature, they are made from acorns, sticks and twigs!
Now Annie and I want to try our own kitchen goods display!

Ulla credits this find to the Japanese Nut Craft Shop and to Haute Nature: D.I.Y. Projects. You may want to brew yourself a cup of tea and explore this treasure trove. I bookmarked it so I can return to it.

Off to Camp We Go!

Annie and I are off to NVC Family Camp! It's the same location as last year, Mountain Home Ranch in Calistoga California. This year, I am volunteering to be a part of the children's team, offering projects and activities to this years children while their parents are deepening their NVC skills. I am offering Fairy Making, Embroidery, Canvas Tote decorating, Painting and whatever else the kids dream up that I can facilitate. Annie on the other hand will have seven days of freedom and fun... There is a lake, creek, natural hot springs, redwoods, two pools, horses, goats and a great cow, and a few dogs. There's also a barn, and great arbor and no cars, phones, TV or media! Ahhhhh! Annie has been asking about going back to Family Camp since we went last year, and I'm so glad I pushed out of my groove (and nesting) to make it happen.

Have a wonderful week!

The Little World

Much to all of our surprise, garden elves seem to have decorated Nana's dollhouse while were were all tucked in our beds asleep last night. Wreaths, garlands, and stockings were all hung with care! Even a little Christmas tree! What a surprise! Annie and her friend Chloe swear they see tiny wet footprints all through our house which proves the theory!