Peg Doll Swap by We Bloom Here
What a treat for spring! We Bloom Here (one of my favorites) is hosting a Peg Doll Swap! Inspire yourself with sweet peg dolls, and sign up to share. I am super-excited to see what everyone creates. I love little pegdolls. I call them gnomes. They can be seasonal, like these summer gnomes.
Summer Gnomes by Lenka
Or to celebrate events. The bride and groom were gifts for my friend's wedding. They appeared at the top of her wedding cake.
Bride and Groom by Lenka
This was also an itty bitty gnome for my cousin's wedding. For them, I made the entire family using bendy fairies. They also got to be atop the wedding cake :)
Baby Gnome by Lenka
See more images of his family here.
Margaret has wonderful ideas for the swap. Her inspiration is Matryoshka style peg dolls. She is open to many ideas. Want more inspiration? Check out the collection she features here and here.
A few of my favorites...
Toadstools by MamaWestWind
Gnome Couple by Beetle and Fern
Wish Gnomes by We Bloom Here
Spring Dolls by This Cosy Life
I have my own inspiration board on
Pinterest with all the peg and fairy dolls that I love all over the web. So much talent! So many cute creations.
Follow Lenka Vodicka-Paredes's board In the Magic Forest on Pinterest.
I hope you can join the swap! The deadline is May 5, 2014, so hop on over to We Bloom Here to participate! Let's create :)
If you want serious inspiration (and directions!) for lovely peg dolls, check out Margaret Bloom's book, Making Peg Dolls
*please note: these are affiliate links. Should you decide to purchase, a small amount returns to the Forest. Your price remains the same. Win-win :) Thank you!
I look forward to seeing what we share with one another! The little wooden pieces are available at A Child's Dream Come True (not an affiliate) and most local craft stores. Margaret says that other styles of little people are welcome too. Going to be fun!
Wishing you a delightful day!
PS- we do have a free Knitted Bunny Gnome pattern if you would like to give that a try :)
Inspiration: Pirates!
A new movie was released this week! A certain favorite fairy around here is going on pirate adventures! We can't wait to see The Pirate Fairy
Pirates are popular in the forest. We love to build dangerous ships and search for buried treasure. Just in case pirates are popular in your world right now, I want to share a little inspiration.
photo copyright: C&T Publishing
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Argh! Directions for these scallywags are in our Forest Fairy Crafts
We hope they inspire you too! Happy sailing the high seas :)
*Please note: this post contains affiliate links. If you decide to click and purchase, a small percentage returns to us (your price is exactly the same). Thank you so much for supporting the forest!
Playing with Craft
Children love inspiration. Don't we all?
Making toys inspires children. They delight in the power of their hands and ideas. I recently sewed these lovely baby leprechauns with six year old students. Children sewed all their own sequins, around the fairy baby, and added stuffing. They were delighted with the little toys they made.What a treat, to see that magic through their eyes. Look what we can create!
Sorry this one is a little blurry- classrooms have tricky lighting for my camera :)
Then the children reminded me the real fun of sewing and crafting. Crafting is inspiration. And the craft is just the beginning. Crafts inspire play. And play inspires storytelling. And learning.
Now that they had little friends, they needed houses. What could build a house?
Blocks of course!
And some homes need a diving board into a lovely cool pool.
With a luxury view from the bedroom.
Legos also make awesome homes. With an open door :)
I encourage students to leave blank faces so they can imagine any expression, but a few insist on adding features. I let go when they have strong feelings towards needing eyes or mouths. After all, if I wanted it to look 'my way', I would make my own :)
I loved her idea to put a ring over the ruffled hat for an even fancier crown.
And finally, dollhouses are wonderful homes. Especially when they come with a pet tiger :)
Enjoy what you create!
Happy day :)
Many of our crafts are "Keepsake Crafts", meaning they look nice for years and become a treasured memory alongside the sweet sewing. Every now and again, I sew "Process Crafts" with children. These are the crafts to shove in pockets and forget outside after playing in the trees. They are the crafts that are meant for playing. They are a chance to let go. Don't worry overmuch about colors or forever. Let them become a memory. Become part of a story. Have fun crafting and playing :)
P.S.- if you would like detailed directions for making little fairy/gnome friends, check out our Forest Fairy Craft Book. Please note- is an affiliate link. Thank you from the forest should you decide to purchase one! Directions for the little hats are online here. Enjoy!
Leprechaun Baby
Hello wee leprechaun!
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Today I get to sew with little friends in first grade. I will be taking photos to share of course. I had to make a sample for them. And it's so fun to make these little leprechauns. I used the Blossom Baby pattern on Page 99 of our Forest Fairy Crafts
I was a little creative with the hat. I didn't have enough acorn caps for my class project. And I want to finish them and send them home today. That means I needed to glue hats the day before. I made the hats ahead of time. And I had fun with the design.
I cut a rectangle with curvy lines (I just measured around the 5/8" bead, very scientific). It came out to 2" if you are curious. I made a few taller and a few shorter. I like every fairy to be unique :)
The next step would be tricky for children, but I sewed all these hats so I was okay with a few tricks :). I ran a stitch near the top of the hat. Note: for children, I always double the thread and knot so the needle won't pull off. These were for me. I've had a lot of practice :)
I cinched the thread tight and tied a knot so it wouldn't come loose. I am pondering how to best teach this to children... more on that soon. Anyway, I folded the hat in half and sewed a few stiches along the back.
Easy cuteness!
Ready to glue :)
I could have added sequins or a clover of course, but I have one day to finish these. I wanted the children to sew sequins on the body, sew around the outside, stuff, and close up. Will be fun!
Wishing you lots of magic today!
Tip: Last summer I realized that curvy lines were a challenge for cutting, yet looked wonderful. I took the leap and treated myself to a rotary cutter. I love the curves for blossoms and mermaid waves. It took me ages to choose, so here's the link in case you are interested: OLFA Rotary Cutter
*Please note: this post does contain affiliate links. Should you purchase anything, your price doesn't change, but a small percentage commission returns to the Forest. Thanks for helping us buy more felt :)
For sharing:
Enjoy!
Forest News and What's New in the Etsy Shop
I met this pretty fairy this week.
Her colors are perfect on days with overcast skies. She reminds me that spring will be here soon! Our winter is terribly mind here in Northern California this year with drought conditions. But I still use warm socks and cozy pajamas. I look forward to sunshine and flowers.
I made her especially for the yearly school auction. Asia and I both teach at a public charter school. The Nevada City School of the Arts is also our childrens' school. We donated this fairy, a signed book, and a natural supply kit to A Matter of Taste. If you are in the Nevada County area, this event is a treat for everyone. We'd love to see you there :)
I also updated our Etsy Shop.
We now have Natural Supply Kits, which have all the goodies that you need to make a fairy, little fairy, gnome, and treasure-keeper in our book (except glue and colored pencils to draw faces). These kits now have wool blend felt. The felt has lovely colors and is soft and wonderful for keepsakes. We also added cotton pipe-cleaners (again, soft). Asia and I put together each kit. Each one is unique. This makes them a little tricky for listing- I need photos for each kit, but I love how there isn't one exactly like another. The color combinations get me every time- I want the blue and lavender, no- maybe the green and pink. Choose yours before it disappears :)
I also created Fairy Kits by request. This kit has the supplies for one fairy.
This is a perfect gift idea. I even create the body since that can be tricky. Children can have fun sewing the hat and creating their own magical doll.
Both kits depend on the Forest Fairy Crafts
We also learned that our projects appeared in two magazines. Yes, two! We were in Kiwi magazine. Thank you for the lovely review! And we are in BYou magazine. So exciting to see the fairies, gnomes, and crafts in print!
We are so grateful for everyone supporting the Forest. These little treasures mean the world to us and we appreciate being able to share them with you :)
*note: the link to our book is an affiliate link
Favorite Valentine Crafts
Time to collect our favorite Valentine Crafts in the forest!
Valentine's Day is the holiday of love and friendship. With children, we notice all the gifts that love brings into our lives. The time we spend together, the sweetness of a hug, the joy of shared laughter. Our families and our friends are tremendous gifts.
The crafts here have been created over the years to show appreciation for the ones we love. We hope they inspire you to create and share!
Most of these links show ideas and do not have patterns or tutorials included (a few have step-by-step directions). You can find detailed instructions (with many photos) in our Forest Fairy Crafts
Wishing you lots of love this week and all year :)
Sweetheart Fairy Babies
Fun in the forest sounds like, "Guess what I made?"
Aw, welcome little sweetheart fairies!
Asia shared these darlings with me last week. We love being inspired by the season.
Asia used ideas from our Forest Fairy Crafts
The wee babes started as Blossom Fairy Babies (page 100). Instead of a leaf bed, Asia made a heart similar to the heart pockets on page 114. She then took the hat from the Love Fairy on page 66 and made the heart-shaped hat small enough for a baby.
Putting it all together is brand-new magic!
Certain things, like the pom-poms on their hats and felt heart decorations, are not in our book. The pom-poms are in most craft stores and can be sewn with a little stitch at the top of the hat. The hearts are cut freehand and secured wtih a stitch.
We keep hearing about mixing and matching ideas from the book. We love that!
Of course, each idea began as a question. "How could we...?" I have a few ideas tumbling in my thoughts right now. "How can I...?" And the results are so much fun!
We wish you lots of love as you create :)
Winter Fair Inspirations
We are setting up our display when our kids dash over.
"Guess what? She has fairies that look like your ninja, Mom!"
Just across from us was a delightful booth with trees and swings and fairies galore. Her inspiration?
Our book!
She bought our book
And I can imagine how she felt when she saw us setting up with our book right across from her display. Of course we made fast friends. And she loved sharing all of the new ideas that she brought to Fairyland.
We feel amazing to see and hear how the book is being used, combined, and built upon to send magic out into the world. What a wonderful enchanted forest!
A pirate ship!
And a hammock. Every princess needs a hammock.
So many clever inspirations. She said that she hadn't made anything like these before, and she was browsing in a local fabric and craft store, Humble Fabrics. She made one and was enchanted!
The cool thing for us was seeing children interect with the display. Quite a few brought a princess of a pirate home for more play.
We love seeing the magic forest grow. Inspiration is delightful!
We found other treasures at the fair as well.
Lovely watercolor display. I want to paint an octopus like this one.
And another crafter created this magic.
Oh my goodness, such sweetness! Even a little felt candle. Beautiful!
As for our own fairies and crafts, they found new friends too.
Babies need lots of supervision with fairies, of course. Little beads and bells are not good for eager tasters. Mom was careful and is going to put the fairy on a shelf for celebrating the season. And baby can play now and again. When she wants a good laugh :)
When a new baby laughs for the first time, a fairy is born...
~J.M. Barrie
We believe :)
Winter Fair Sweethearts
This week we are going to a Winter Faire which was rescheduled due to snow last month. At the time, missing the holiday season was disappointing.
But winter days are long (even with the strange early spring we have this year). I look forward to a fun day for us and our children.
The fair inspired me to sew these little gnomes to bring along.
Sweetheart Gnomes by Lenka
Each new season is new inspiration :)
And I had to make a fairy, too.
Sweetheart Fairy by Lenka
Children (and adults) ask sometimes why the fairies or gnomes don't have faces. We like to create them both ways. Many of my fairies have faces. I love the little smiles and impish personalities.
At the same time, I find the wood-bead charming. The idea is that our imaginations create the face. We can 'see' the happy or worried or surprised fairy in our mind. We create the expression and the details. This sounds novel in an age when everything can be made to be more real and toys come with soundtracks so we don't need to make a train whistle or a firetruck siren-song.
I adore simplicity. And I appreciate getting to make these types of toys. Just waiting for a little magic. To come alive :)
You can find us at the Winter Fair at the Yuba River Charter School tomorrow. I can't wait to see all of the toys and crafts and games. I am sure to find more inspiration :) More information is here if you are in the Nevada County area.
We hope to see you!
Sweet Gnome Homes
A few years ago, my daughter made me a precious gift. She asked for a few supplies. Felt scraps. A tiny wood gnome.
She made me this treasure. She designed and sewed everything herself. She was seven years old.
She had a lot of practice with needles and thread (her mama is Queen of the Fairy Forest after all (her title for me)). But the design and creating of this little gnome is a perfect beginning sewing project.
All you need is felt scraps, needle, thread, a couple decorations, and a wee gnome. This project allows for a lot of trial and error because the felt pieces are small.
She cut the hearts first. They didn't match. She liked that one was bigger than the other. She trimmed them to fit together (mostly). If your child doesn't know where to start with cutting hearts, your child can make a pattern on a piece of paper. Draw a few sketches and pick your favorite. Cut and trace onto felt. Or fold the felt in half and cut just like folding a paper heart (this is a little trickier for little hands).
She could have decorated the hearts with sequins, buttons, or beads. She didn't feel like making it too fancy. I love the simplicity, myself. She sewed them together with straight stitches.
She didn't use a pattern for the gnome. She cut scraps into shapes that she liked and tried them on the peg doll. She sewed the cape with a few stitches. Then she did the same thing for the hat. She folded it in half and sewed it together. She added a flower sequin to the top.
She had sewn before using lots of the ideas in our Forest Fairy Craft Book
What I appreciated about this project was how she was able to plan and test ideas. She found a project- cape and hat, with a little home- where she could try her own patterns. I could have cut the shapes and orgazined the project step by step. But I enjoyed how this gnome gave her a lot of freedom. Yes, I had a pile of teeny-tiny piece of felt at the end. I didn't care.
Visualizing, planning, and creating are all valuable life-skills. A little toy for your efforts is a big bonus!
And it's one of my favorite gifts ever.
Welcome home, little gnome :)
Happy Christmas!
We send happy, sparkling wishes for peace and joy to everyone today. Whether you celebrate Christmas or other holidays, we hope today finds you with family, good health, and delightful laughter.
I love creating fairies all year. Christmas gives me a lovely chance to create glittering decorations.
I adore Fairyland during the holidays :)
Wishing peace, abundance, and love to all :)
Happy Celebrating :)
Child-Made Fairies for Christmas
One of my favorite things about the holidays is making fairies with children. Every student in my class (20 in all) makes a fairy. The boys (and a few girls) are not inspired by fairies, so they make elves. Or angels. Whatever the fairies are called, they bring joy to the season.
Our book was inspired by projects like these fairies. Because families sometimes wonder how their five, six, or seven year old made such treasures. Every little fairy/elf/angel is unique. Reflecting the unique voice of the child.
How does it work?
The directions, with many photographs, are all in our book
What the child does:
- chooses felt and pipe cleaner colors, yarn, sequins, wings
- sews the decorating felt band on the hat, adds sequins and decorations galore
- sews up the back of the hat
- adds beads and bells to the top of the hat
- winds thread (pants or tunic)
- chooses petal skirts
- tries hat on to see how it all looks together
What the adult does:
- makes the body
- draws the face
- cuts the felt
- threads the needle and ties knots
- demonstates (models) the first couple of stitches and how to add sequins
- lets go of expectations :)
- folds hat in half when decorating is done, sews an anchor stitch at the bottom
- models sewing up to the top of the hat (one stitch)
- knots thread for clothing
- models first steps for winding thread (pants or over-shoulder, under arm)
- holds wings until they are attached with winding thread
- clips tiny amount so petal skirts can scoot up the legs
- glues hair and hat on fairy/elf/angel
Of course, this all changes depending on the age and personality of the child. And it doesn't have to be done on the same day. Take breaks. See the little bits of felt and thread come together to create a magical keepsake.
One of our favorite things at the recent craft fair was hearing from families whose students left us five or even ten years ago. "We still have our fairies," they said. On the tree or the table or the mantle.
We still love our fairies :)
Nevada City Craft Fair 2013
We love a good fair! All the lights and festivity make for a delightful day.
We haven't visited a fair in awhile so this was our first time sharing our book with the public.
We share the book often with family and friends. Which is awesome, but seeing the reactions at the fair inspired us! Such lovely responses :)
"Come see the fairies!"
Oh, and us too :)
The best part of crafting is the people. I couldn't do this without Asia! She is magical :).
Creating a little enchanted forest :)
The best part of the day was seeing the forest inspire visitors. So many people will be making fairies and treasure keepers this year! Thank you to everyone who could stop by. We have closed our etsy shop because a lot of our goodies were sold at the fair. And we have new custom orders. Like a ninja-kit. I need to go work on that :)
Happy holidays!
Happy Holidays with Angels
We are so excited to share the season with all of you. And we are dancing-sparkly excited about wonderful news! We love the magical dolls that Margaret creates in her book, Making Peg Dolls
So my friends bought me the book and we were all enchanted. Margaret's projects have a sweetness and wonder that had my very-young son asking me to make that one for him, and that one, Mom, please? While my girl asks for more felt and supplies to make her own tiny flower people and baby chicks.
Peg People and Baby Birds by Margaret Bloom
I sent Margaret a little note thanking her for the pretty book. I wished that I could have met her in person.
We haven't managed to meet in person yet, but, sure enough, our shared love of all things glittery inspired friendship. As we talked about the holidays, we thought that a giveaway swap would be fun.
"Let's make angels," we said.
And what inspiration!
She is giving away my angel so head on over to We Bloom Here to enter. I get to give away one of her darling angels.
We didn't share our design ideas before creating the angels. I think it's fun that we chose the same iridescent pipe clearners. And stars. Great minds think alike :)
I am so fortunate to share this gift with one of you this holiday season.
Angels are appreciated around here all year-round. They bring us peace and hope. They are symbols of light and love. We keep them hanging in little nooks or sitting on shelves by a candle. You can enter to win these angels. You can also make a few of your own! Our books have directions for both of these treasures (and plenty more).
We are delighted to share our angels. All that you need to do is write a comment below and include your email so we can get the winner's address. To enter this give away, please leave a comment below this post, and be sure I have your email so I can get in touch if you are one of the winners. For added fun, you may tell me about your favorite holiday magical tradition. For us, the holidays are full of magic. We love St. Mikulas visiting on December 5. We put a sock behind the curtain. He leaves little sweets on our windowsill. My father was Czech and this is how he held the tradition with us. Each year, finding goodies on a windowsill is simple magic.
Comments for the give away will close at 12:00 noon, Pacific Standard Time, on December 9, 2013. A winner for one peg doll angel will be chosen via random drawing and announced at that time. To enter for the Fairy Angel, head on over to We Bloom Here. Happy Holidays!
Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful memories and comments! We have selected a random winner and are waiting to hear back. Wishing you a lovely day!
Thankful
This year brings so much gratitude. We are thankful for our book and sharing our book.
We are thankful for seeing our crafts made around the world.
We are thankful for the photos of fairies and owls and critters sewn by children (and adults).
We are thankful for activities. We loved hearing about the scavenger hunt with hidden fairies.
And giveaways. We are thankful for great reviews (so many!). Thank you thank you!
We are thankful for supportive friends. And family. And new friends! We meet so many lovely people into the forest. We appreciate you.
We are thankful for creative children. And creative grown-ups.
We are thankful for our agent and the wonderful people at C&T Publishing who helped make our ideas into a beautiful book.
We are thankful for the bloggers who post reviews and projects. We love the photos of your crafts!
We are grateful for our community.
We are so grateful for our children. Thank you, Anika, for staging these scenes with me yesterday with the fairies!
We are thankful for dreams, because the Forest started as a dream. We are thankful for dreamers.
And we are thankful for magic. The magic of turning felt and ribbons into little treasured stories. The magic of spending time together making cute things.
The magic that makes me smile. Every time. Every time the glue dries, I hold the finished craft. And I smile. So thankful.
We are grateful for good health. Asia and I have both had challenges in our families this year (better now) that remind us how this time together is so very precious. We are grateful for good mornings. And afternoons. And evenings.
I asked my girl and her first answer was Family. Grateful for family. Love and acceptance and growing together.
And of course we are grateful for you. For your reading. And your crafting. And your support of our little journey. You make this possible. And we appreciate you each and every day.
Thank you!
Wishing you a delightful day!
Christmas Card Giveaway
I just took photos for this year's holiday card and I can't help but share :)
Introducing the Christmas Tree Fairy! She shines in the forest.
Last year, I made special peppermint fairies in honor of my daughter dancing as a peppermint in the Nutcracker.
They appeared on a forest-fairy holiday card.
This year I chose a Christmas Tree Fairy. Just because.
Now I need to get busy making the cards :)
I would love to send one to you or a child in your world! These good wishes from the forest will be fun to open in the mail!The fairies love to share happy cheer!
I will pick two comments from below to receive a limited edition holiday card from the forest. We can send to your address or a different address of your choosing. The contest closes on December 1. We have a super-fancy surpise planned for December 2 so check back Tuesday. We love giving magic!
I will contact you through email, so be sure to leave that for me. I hope this week finds you enjoying family and the sparkle of the season!
Terms and conditions: Entries are free. International entries are accepted. Contest ends on December 1 at midnight Pacific Time. All comments are appreciated :) Peace and joy!
Thank you for the lovely comments! It's too hard to pick two, so I am working on a way to send more cards. Stay tuned :)
Thankful for Nature
Our world is amazing. Whether we live in a forest, or a meadow, or a city, magic is right outside our doors. This time of year, we love talking about gratitude with family, friendships, food. One of my personal favorite actitivies is bringing children outside and asking them, "What do you appreciate here?"
Having things to touch and explore and collect helps children notice the world that can easily be taken for granted. We can walk past trees or building. It's easy to focus on the destination: going to school, to the park, to the store...
This time I just go outside. I invite children to collect one treasure (maybe two). I wander. On purpose.
We look up.
We look down.
We notice the passing beauty all around. And we ask questions. We become curious. "What are the spiky things on that tree?" "Why do these leaves change colors?"
This appreciation is simple. And lasting. Children share their treasures.
I love photos because I can take a picture, then they can leave nature in the forest (or side of the parking lot, which is where he found this tiny pine cone).
They are so excited by their discoveries.
We slow down and notice how the air feels. How does the sun feel on our face? The breeze in our hair?
We are so fortunate, to have these gifts around us every day. No small things.
When we finish the walk, we write poems to remember those feelings. Those discoveries.
To remind us. The world is an amazing place. We have so much to be thankful for :)
She found a leaf shaped like a heart.
We also place our treasures in a display. Since we are a class, one or two things from each child create a diverse collection of leaves, acorns, and tiny pine cones (these are returned to nature within a few days). With my family, each child collects a little more.
I have ideas to look for colors as we wander. Appreciate red in our world. Appreciate green :)
Appreciate now :)
I write the poem with them by asking for feelings, not stories. Their individual contributions create a lovely poem :). I usually write the closing sentiment to tie it all together.
- Take a walk
- Wander
- Slow down and share the moment (say how it feels)
- Collect treasures (gently, no living things)
- Create a display
- Draw or paint an image of a favorite treasure or scene
- Write a sentence about the walk or what was discovered
- Write poems (or a group poem)
- Put photos, drawing, and/or poems togegther for a fall book
P.S. If you would like to bring a fairy along on your walk, that would be lovely! Give your fairy a tour of our magical world :)
Enjoy autumn :)
Holiday Fairs 2013
Doesn't it seem like the holidays arrive earlier every year? I usually make Thanksgiving my moment to kick into the holiday season, the start of a flurry of activity and fun... It seems like Halloween has become that moment now.
Perhaps because we are in the gifting world- and we love to make gifts and help children make gifts. So we have planned our December. We hope that you can join us at one of these events. We will have books, craft kits, and a few surprises!
We will be at the Yuba River Charter School Winter Faire on Saturday, December 7. We will be focusing on Waldorf crafting here- bringing a lot of natural toy-making supplies like wood buttons and wool felt. You can learn more about this fun event here.
Another new event for us will be the Nevada City Craft Fair on Sunday, December 15. We are excited to share the holiday fun with other artists at the Foundry. And we love the flyer! More information about that fair is here.
The next week will be busy at our school celebration, the Nevada City School of the Arts Winter Revels, on Wednesday, December 12. We love sharing our crafts with the students and parents that have made the crafts in class. They inspired us to write our book :)
We are very busy making all the goodies for these fairs. If you live outside our forest-area, you can always find our Etsy shop. I will be busy updating it (though things may disappear as they are bought locally :))
I also have a very exciting giveaway planned for December. I am not in any rush for the holidays, but I must admit that I do love them!
Thank you for supporting our forest :)
Happy Halloween!
We send lovely Halloween wishes to your part of the forest (even if you have lots of building around you)!
Asia made these witches with second grade students at the Nevada City School of the Arts (about 7 years old). They were inspired by the felted beads, which became perfect fairy-heads! Students brought them home today and I am sure they will inspire lots of spooky-wonderful-magic!
I fall in love with the little things. For these witches, Asia gave them a little tulle cape. She found darling tiny bats and they hang from each hat.
I wonder if I could sneak into the second grade class just to make my own :)
We hope that everyone is enjoying a safe and magical Halloween! Enjoy!
Autumn in the Forest
Hurrah for changing leaves and crisp mornings. We love the bright colors of fall, the blazing oranges and reds. We also love the shadowy colors of fall, the dusky purples and deep burgundies.
We haven't been able to post that much because we are busy creating these days. We have a few craft fairs booked for December (more on that soon). And the book is selling well! (thank you!) But the fun needs to be shared.
So happy October!
We have new things in the Forest. The first is that we now offer custom greeting cards with our images. When you go here, you can choose an image and design it however you like. You can order one, or a box of ten or more. I am excited to try them. I will be adding more holiday images as we get closer to the season.
We have also been selling kits locally and in our Etsy shop. The response is an overwhelming, "Thank You!" And as I prep for our own holiday crafting around here, I appreciate the effort the kit will save a lot of families. The kits do not include directions (they are meant as a companion to our book). They have supplies to make at least four different projects. If you are crafty, most of the supplies are probably in your stash, but if you are traveling, or just starting to craft, these kits save a lot of time.
My current challenge is choosing colors! I want to keep our inventory simple (pastels, woodland, seasonal) but they we go to the store and find turquoise and magenta. And what about angels? And winter?
Oh, the ideas are endless. The last special one for this month is the Spooky Crafty Kit with purples and black. Perfect for zombies and witches. I only have one left in our Etsy Shop.
I am adding petals to the kits, too, because the petal fairies are so much fun!
Speaking of petal fairies, I have too much fun making my own fairies :)
They're even harder to offer for sale. I fall in love with each and every one of them. Especially her...
She has this little smirk that makes me happy. Every single time I see her :)
I don't really want to send her off to a new home, but she is available here.
I wanted to make a pink and black fairy. And she kept adding details. She wanted sparkles. Gold thread in her hair. A wide-brim hat. And she has this sweet and sly look about her that reminds me why I craft. We can make magic :)
Speaking of magic, my girl has inspired me to create a little for her and her friends. This year, the big new thing at school is animal tails. And this is before the Fox song :). They wear tails to school almost every day. They asked me for cat tails. And Ian asked for an orange cat tail. Their friends want more, so I made a few extras.
And the more realistic, faux fur cat-tail...
I am getting the cat-tail posted (hopefully soon). The orange tail in is our shop :)
And we have exciting plans for the holidays. It's a secret for now, but I am working with one of my favorite magical artists... Lucky me :)
Time to enjoy this fantastic autumn! I am sending great fun and spooky-sparkles your way :)
