GIVEAWAY ~ ‘Home Under the Dome’ ~ WINNER

Thank you all so much for joining in the fun of the GIVEAWAY for the Home Under the Dome, which I shared with you in the last blog post

I closed the Giveaway today, and then collected all the names.  Each name was allocated a number based upon the order in which they entered their name into the GIVEAWAY.

These are the names, along with their allocated numbers: (where possible, I’ve added each name as a link to their own blog, so that you can go and visit them and perhaps make a new friend!)

1. Watching the Daisies
2. BC Parkison
3. Crafty Boutique by  Tam
4. Invisibly Me
5. Susie Shy45
6. Gillyflower
7. Soozyb2013
8. Barbara Lindsey
9. Chicken Grandma
10. The Artisan Duck
11. Mrs.Craft.

I then asked Mr.Google for it’s Random Number Generator, which it duly gave me, and I asked the RNG to pick the winning number from and including No.1 –  up to and including No. 11.  I clicked the ‘Generate‘ button,  and it chose . . . 

NUMBER 1 (ONE)!

So the WINNER OF OUR Home Under the Dome is   [drumroll]. . . 

~  Watching the Daisies  ~

 

Daisies, I’m thrilled to be posting the Home Under the Dome to you.  All I now need is your snail mail address so that I can post it.

I think you and I have emailed each other once before, so I’ll have a search through my emails to see if I can find your email address, and once found, I’ll drop you a note so that you can send me your snail mail address.

Many, many thanks to everyone for joining in.  Giveaways make life just a bit more fun, and shines a bright spot in days.

There will be another Giveaway very soon …. but I won’t tell you when, or what for, or why.  So keep watching … you really won’t have to wait too long.  😉

And tomorrow …. there is a blog post heading your way – (if I can get the darn photographs taken), – which I think will not only make you smile, but possibly even make you laugh out loud, and maybe even squirm and squiggle just a little.  😀   *Cobs – tsk tsk,  that’s enough.  Don’t give it all away!!*

But, for today, this glorious Sunday which has been gifted to us all  . . .  May your day be peace filled, touched with joy, and sprinkled with happy.  May you leave any troubles outside the door until tomorrow, and may love fill your home and heart.

And …  stay as awesome as I think of you as being.  Because you truly, really are.

Much love and many squidges, from me in my corner to you in yours.

 

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Home under the Dome 3 ~ MEGA DOMES!

What’s that saying  ~  “Go BIGGER or go home!”?   We’ll we’re doing both here!

Although …  not going so big that you could see a ‘Home Under the Dome’ from Space.  I might be calling them ‘Mega Domes’ – but they’re still tiny. Small enough to put in your pocket.

Take a look at the measurements…  (the purple rule is in centimetres, but I’ve done the conversion into inches to help) . . .

The Home Under the Dome in the centre (above) is the regular sized dome that you’ve seen me make before.  (you’ll  find information about this little Dome later).

The Mega Dome on the right hand side of the above photo contains something very special,  because it holds a ‘Fairy Kiss’, and, of course, a Fairy Home[under the Dome] along with some Fairy Mushrooms and a few other tiny fairy things.  The Dome on the left hand side of the above photograph contains a Fairy Wish Tree as well as not one, but TWO Fairy Homes, and a bundle of Fairy Mushrooms.  Let’s take a look at that one first, shall we?

The tree really does have a tree trunk – but try as I might I couldn’t get it to properly show up in photographs.  The trunk is made from a piece of branch which fell from the humongous protected Pine Trees which are in my garden to the rear of Cobweb Cottage.

There are two Fairy Homes, and an assortment of Fairy Mushrooms – all freshly collected from Freckled Mushroom Wood ~ which can be found near to where I live – but is only known and shown to those who truly believe and enter with a pure heart.  If you look very closely towards the top of the tree, you will see the tiniest of Fairy Bluebirds, sitting happily in the tree. Can you also spot the really tiny multi coloured, sparkly butterflies?

What you can’t see in the photos above, is that the Fairy Wishing Tree was collected when there was a low breeze, and so it is held in suspension, or ‘frozen in time’, and bends slightly,  and the foliage still looks exactly as it did when the low breeze blew it – all blown and sort of ‘leaning’ in the same direction.  It looks like there is a gentle wind blowing inside the Dome. Magical!

The other Mega Dome – well that’s a special dome and possibly my favourite.  It contains a Fairy Kiss, which holds a Fairy Home and some Magical Freckled Mushroom.

It has flowers, and some teeny tiny buttons which the Fairies had collected and were using as stepping-stones up to their house.  Knowing that the Fairies wouldn’t mind, I gathered up just two of the minuscule buttons and added them to the base of the silver Thimble Kiss.

… The Fairy Kiss – is the Thimble you see holding the Fairy home and mushrooms.

Do you remember in the story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up, (written by Scottish novelist J.M.Barrie), who interacts with Fairies, Mermaids and Pirates (‘think’ Captain Hook!). Wendy Darling and Peter Pan became friends and wants to give Peter a kiss – which Peter thinks is the thimble which Wendy is holding, so holds out his hand to receive it.

That thimble from the story made a huge impression on me as a child and I grew up knowing that in reality, a thimble to humans, was a ‘kiss’ to a Fairy.

When my daughters were old enough to understand and treasure things – one Christmas I gave each of them a special gift from me of a silver bracelet (one each), which I’d had one tiny, real silver thimble hung on each of the bracelets, and when they’d opened their bracelets I shook my arm and showed them that I too had a silver bracelet with a silver thimble on it, and told them that wherever they might be in the world, and if I was ever a long way away from them, they only had to look at their bracelets and would see that they would always have a kiss from me.  They loved their bracelets, and the knowledge that they would always have a kiss.

Now lets deal with that tiny little Home Under the Dome which is in the middle of the two Mega Domes, shall we ?  . . .

 This regular sized, tiny Home Under the Dome (in the centre of the above photo) is quite a special dome, and it’s up for grabs!

Edit: 22nd July 2018:

The ‘GIVEAWAY’ is now closed to new names being entered into the ‘hat’.  Anyone adding their name from this moment forward is, I’m afraid, too late to be included in the ‘draw’.

  The Winner of the Home Under the Dome will be announced later today; Sunday 22nd July 2018.

This tiny little dome is packed to over-flowing with charm and has some very special features.  There are two tiny homes under this dome, both of which speak of the quirkiness and fun of the Fairies who once inhabited the homes – for both are slightly different in that they are wiggly wobbly.  Bending and curving just slightly.   They’re …. different in a special way.

It was difficult to show you what I mean in photographs, but you can just about see in the photo above that the tallest of the two houses begins at ground level and then curves backwards and, had it been taller, you would have seen that it’s on it’s way back to curve the other way.  BUT .. if you then look at the smaller of the Fairy homes – that home also curves and in fact matches the curve of the taller house!  How do the Fairies know how to do that?!!!  [gasp!]

There are blue freckled Fairy mushrooms, and also one teeny tiny red freckled mushroom, all growing in the grass.  But … there is something very special that I haven’t included in any Dome before . . . 

. . . there – in a ‘held in a moment of time’, is a tiny blue butterfly, which landed on a freckled mushroom, and is captured forever under the Dome.  This special Dome is now the subject of a Giveaway for followers of my blog.

Edit: 22nd July 2018:

The ‘GIVEAWAY’ is now closed to new names being entered into the ‘hat’.  Anyone adding their name from this moment forward is, I’m afraid, too late to be included in the ‘draw’.

  The Winner of the Home Under the Dome will be announced later today; Sunday 22nd July 2018.

If you would like to be the custodian for this Home Under the Dome, and you are a follower, all you need to do is:-

• In a comment on this blog post, put the word  ‘GIVEAWAY’ right at the beginning of your comment.  Put it before you type any other word – this helps me to find those folk who would like to be included in the chance to be the new Home Under the Dome, guardian.

And that’s it.  That’s all you need to do.

If you can’t find the comments box, then you need to scroll all the way to the top and click on the title of this post (‘A Home under the Dome 3 ~ MEGA DOMES!’) – and that will load the blog page this time with the comments box – which will show up at the bottom of the post.  (You can also read any comments other people have put too!)

Please remember that the Giveaway is only open to followers of The Cobweborium Emporium Blog.

Edit: 22nd July 2018:

The ‘GIVEAWAY’ is now closed to new names being entered into the ‘hat’.  Anyone adding their name from this moment forward is, I’m afraid, too late to be included in the ‘draw’.

  The Winner of the Home Under the Dome will be announced later today; Sunday 22nd July 2018.

Well, crafty wise,  that’s me done and dusted.

However . . . I’ve learned some things this week that I’d like to share  . . .

1. Don’t trust that the new receptionist at your doctors has actually booked you in to see the doctor you told her you wanted to see, but instead might (accidentally) book you in to see some doctor in the practise you’ve never seen before in your life.  [sigh]
2. That although your husband/partner normally has the worst memory in the Universe, sometimes they will surprise the heck out of you and know exactly where to find a particular thing, that you know you have, but WHERE THE DICKENS IS IT?!!!
3. I’ve learned that I haven’t lost my power to bargain with stores and get a better deal than they first offer you.  SOOOO happy, and Mr.C is in awe!  (But I don’t go in for hero-worship so … ahh, no … a little hero-worship is great for the soul – so long as it’s only for a moment).
4. I’ve finally admitted that my big boy cat, [read ‘small Panther’], Alf Capone, is, quite frankly,  the nosiest cat in the world.  He likes to sit or ‘lounge’  anywhere at the front of our cottage where he can observe every single thing which goes on in the area where we live.  Any neighbour who comes or goes, doesn’t do so without being counted out and counted in again.  Any car which drives past is registered – both in colour, make and model, for future reference by him.  He’s the laziest, nosiest, most beautiful cat with the biggest personality, and he makes everyone laugh.  He’s also the biggest eater.  We’ll go bankrupt with this cat.  He can really put it away!  (But then, he is a huuuge cat – so I guess it’s understandable).
5. Finally …  I’ve learnt that ‘accidentally’ being booked in to see the wrong doctor actually might be beneficial – so don’t discount seeing someone different when the need arises, for a fresh set of eyes looking at things differently and can sometimes come up with what possibly might be the answer.

I’m sure I’ve learned more than these things, but my one brain cell can only hold so much information, and when there’s too much going in it forces the brain cell to ‘evacuate’  some older things in order to make way for the new stuff.  (But I wish that it would hang onto passwords or at the very least be organised enough to stick post it notes to the inside of my skull!)

All that’s left for me to do now is to wish you a truly wonderful week.  May reality be better than your dreams!

Have a blessed day all.  Sending you heaps of squidges and lots of love ~

Edit: 22nd July 2018:

The ‘GIVEAWAY’ is now closed to new names being entered into the ‘hat’.  Anyone adding their name from this moment forward is, I’m afraid, too late to be included in the ‘draw’.

  The Winner of the Home Under the Dome will be announced later today; Sunday 22nd July 2018.

Homes Under the Domes 2 ~ THE SEQUEL!

Hello . . .  tis I,  Cobs.  . . .  I have returned,  –  with a complaint  …  IT’S TOO DARN HOT!  People are on the beaches supposedly sunning themselves and getting a tan!  They’re really not.  Not in this heat.  They’re actually frizzling up like crispy-cooked bacon!  I can smell them. sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

Joking aside … I’m not a Summer lover.  I love the flowers that the summer brings; the birds, the butterflies, the bees,  and love the overall happiness which Summer packs in its little suitcase and brings with it,  . . .  but I don’t like how the heat of Summer affects my body.  It’s been making me feel proper poorly. (Hence the reason I haven’t been around). 

My body is a talking package of broken rubbish,  and for some reason warm weather seems to put this package of rubbish under a microscope and blow it up to  M.E.G.A.  proportions.  It’s been the hottest day today, (Sunday evening as I type this), here  in the South of England,  and they are predicting that this weather is going to go on for some weeks to come.  I do hope not.  (crosses fingers)   We need a few days of cooler temperatures and refreshing breezes …. and some rain for the land.

So… if you happen to be reading this God, could you please turn the heating down a few notches, and turn on the rain for a few nights.  You don’t have to make it rain during the day … I don’t want to be a party pooper to holiday makers who are here having grand fun, but I would like to see the wildlife and the ground get a few nights of rain, every now and again.  Thank you, in advance.  😀  ~  me.  xxx

Aanyhooooo.…  let’s talk about crafts and  …

Homes under the Dome – The Sequel!

I’ve been able to craft on the odd day here and there (with two fans going in the craft room, and only before the sun comes round and tries to cook me at Gas mark 8!).  I wanted to make some more Homes under the Dome, and also make a Bottle of Magic.

I was asked about how to make Fairy Domes on my last post, and because I know that the Domes can be a little difficult to get hold of, I suggested that perhaps a glass bottle would be an easy project, and so I thought it would be a good idea to actually make one so that you could see what I meant.

But that will be in a few minutes … first … let’s do some Domes, shall we?

These are the Home under the Dome projects I’ve been able to make.  The numbers in the hearts, with arrows pointing to each dome, are there so that I can show you each dome closer up and you’ll know which dome you’re looking at!  Clever eh?

You can see a much closer up view like this, and still refer to the original photo to see the dome from (kind of) arms length.

Now I’m going to miss out number 3 just for a moment and go straight on to number 4….

This Home under the Dome does have a home,  it’s on the other side, but I wanted to show you the teeny tiny REAL clam shell with the bright shining pearly bead inside it.

Ok …  let’s ‘do’  the missing number three Dome, shall we? . . .

The reason I left number 3 till now is because it’s not a Home Under the Dome, but instead it’s a Gnome Under the Dome.  Look carefully and you can see his little face – his nose, eyes and a little grin going on there too!

Finally …  I made a Magic Bottle.  Blogger Susie Shy was asking about making the Domes, and since I’d suggested a bottle I thought perhaps I’d better make a bottle so that she could see what I was actually going on about. So here’s a Fairy home in a bottle.  The Fairy Home and all the Mushrooms were freshly gathered from Freckled Mushroom Wood just a few days ago  ….

As you can see, it’s  100% Pure Magic.   You won’t find purer!  Let me show you the back of this Magic Jar…

Both inside the jar, and on the wax seal around the corked top, there is evidence of Fairy Dust.  There is also evidence of Fairy Dust on my desk, on the floor of my craft room and …  even in my bathroom!  Heaven only knows what on earth the Fairies were doing in there, but my goodness, the place twinkles like stardust has been spread around freely!

Well that’s me done and dusted, craft-wise.

I’m sat here in the living room, with my little lap top, tapping away at the keyboard, and I have the ceiling fan on ‘fast and furious’  ….  a tall standard fan on ‘Blow your Brains Out’,  and  a 16″ desk fan on the floor manfully struggling on, trying to blow cold air, but actually blowing warm air around – but its trying and for that I appreciate it’s every effort.

I also have my water spray bottle from my craft room, over to my right, and every now and again I give my face a little mist from it.  It feels lovely and I highly recommend this idea to all who suffer in the heat.  (I take mine to bed with me, filled with really cold water from the fridge, and use it whenever the need arises.  It helps).

Thank you so much for coming and sharing each Home Under the Dome with me over a cup of coffee.   Hope you like them and that they gave you a smile.

Have a truly lovely Monday.  Make it amazing,  and don’t settle for anything less!

Sending many squidges and much love ~

 

 

 

A Home Under the Dome!

When Fairy and Pixie families begin to grow, bigger homes are obviously required.  So they move out of their little cottages and normally the empty little homes will stay empty until another Fairy or Pixie take up residence in the little home.

But sometimes, if they’re very lucky,  a human might come across an empty Fairy home and, providing they’re careful, the human can gently lift the Fairy home from its nesting spot, and carry it home, and keep it safe for ever more.

I bought a whole bundle of these tiny Domes about 9 or so years ago for another ‘tiny’ project that I was doing at the time.  I couldn’t buy just the right amount I needed, as they came as a certain boxed amount (can’t remember how many), so once I’d done the projects I wanted to do, I packed the remaining domes safely in a box and put them away, with the thought that they might come in useful another day.  And, as you can see … they have! 

It was quite difficult to photograph these as the light bounced off the domes.  Too many lights made white dots on the domes, all over the place.  Not enough light and it wouldn’t allow you to see inside the dome properly.  So I hope that the photos I’ve chosen allow you, dear reader, to see into the Homes under the Domes.

Each dome is different from any other, and each dome has its own words or ‘story’ which runs around the base.

All the homes you see inside each individual dome, all come from ‘Freckled Mushrooms Wood’, and the toadstools which accompany them are all collected at the same time as the teeny tiny houses.

In some of the domes there are still signs of evidence of Pixie and Fairy dust, which twinkles madly!

This next dome (below) was a special request from my much-loved Grandson, Little Cobs – who put in an order:  “Can me have one?  Put blue mushrooms in my dome Grammy!” . . . and as any decent Grammy would …  I made sure he got his wish …  but … there was a surprise waiting for him today when he came, after school, for his tea.  Not only did he have a Home in a Dome waiting for him, with blue mushrooms inside it . . .  but his Dome also had a Gnome inside it too!

It just looks like 4 blue Freckled Fairy Mushrooms ….  until you turn the dome . . . 

. . .  and then you find that there’s a little Fairy Gnome, snoozing the day away, under his Freckled Mushroom Cap, and all you can see of him is his fabulous Gnome Nose, his wonderful Gnome feet and his little chubby toes!

And then a further turn of the dome reveals that there, nestled into the Freckled Mushrooms, is a genuine, really real Fairy House.  A ‘Home under the Dome’.

I knew I had to do something with my domes when I came across them a few weeks ago.  I saw them and instantly felt that I’d like to put some ‘Fairy Home’ specimens under them.

If you would like a play with something similar but don’t have the domes, I recommend those little bottles that are available at craft stores and suppliers.  The bottles are way easier to come by than the domes, and they make the most fabulous little ‘Specimen Bottles’.  So sweet, and would be lovely as gifts!

Well that’s me done and dusted with regard to Fairies, Pixies, Gnomes and Homes.

I seem to have been trying to keep the all the plates spinning this week.  I’m not overly fond of weeks like that, as they leave me feeling proper drained.  But  I learned an important lesson this week  …  If I change my password on ANY internet site, then I need to write the darn thing down and keep the note until I’ve finally got the new password lodged inside my one and only brain cell! 

Six times I’ve forgotten the new password I’ve made up for one particular website.  SIX TIMES!   Each time I forget, the website asks me make a new password, and it has to be one I haven’t used before.  Well quite frankly, I’m getting to the point where I think I’ve used all the words available to my brain – so I’d better not forget this latest one, because if I do, I’ll be well and truly stuffed!  I’ve written it down on a post-it note and stuck it to the side of my shelving unit in the craft room.  Please God, don’t let it fall off the unit!

Thank you so much for coming, having a coffee moment with me, and for sharing the Homes under the Domes.  There’ll be more of these coming – as this is something I’m having lots of harmless fun with.  But …  I have been working on something which I originally bought these domes for all those years ago.  So this will be a crafty re-visit to an oldey but goody.  When I’ve finally taken some photo’s of them, I’ll share those with you too.

In the meantime . . .  I wish you a bright and beautiful Thursday.  If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.  It costs nothing, but it makes the world a whole lot better place to be a part of.

Sending much love and plenty of squidges, from me in my corner, to you in yours.  Have a blessed day my friends  ~  

 

A Fairy captured in a Fairy Jar

 

When you capture a Fairy, you capture a moment in time.  For you don’t actually capture the Fairy herself (or himself), what you’re actually catching is a fairy shadow.  You see … a Fairy moves far too quickly to be caught in a jar, for no sooner have you got her inside the jar, than she’s popped out before you’ve even managed to even think about putting the lid on!

And back in the room again … (smiling here) ….  Well I said that I’d like to make another Fairy in a Jar, and so I did.  Only this time I remembered (mostly) to take photographs of each step as I did it, so that means this post is a little photo heavy, so because of that I’ll try to keep the talking to a minimum and just give you the point by point things which will explain what you’re looking at or need to know if you’re going to make a Fairy Jar yourself.  Get ready… here we go….

I found a lovely new jar in Mr. Cobs shed which  I swiftly took ownership of before he noticed it was gone,  he kindly donated (cough) and I decided that this would make a fabulous fairy jar.  I assembled everything which I’d need and began.

In the beginning  …. the was a jar.  A nice, clean, unused jar waiting to be loved.

Add grass (of the card kind) using glue to stick it in place … only …  this is where I found I’d run into a problem.  I couldn’t get my hand into the jar.  This is a very important point:   MAKE SURE YOU CAN GET YOUR HAND INTO YOUR JAR BEFORE YOU BEGIN.

• If you’ve found a jar which is narrow necked and too long for you to reach the bottom using your fingers, or tweezers … then may I suggest that you buy some extra long tweezers before you begin.  You can find them in .. Pet stores (particularly ones which sell Lizards or food for Lizards).  Or you can find them on Ebay, or at some Kitchen/Cake making supply stores.

 

I didn’t have extra long tweezers at the time I was making this Fairy Jar,  so I did my best with what I had.  (And made an unholy mess too! – see inside the jar!)

Because this particular jar wasn’t straight sided down to the bottom it meant that there was a gap between the bottom of the ‘grass’ and the base of the jar (which would have let the light shine out and it would have looked odd) .. I remedied this by twisting a little bit of black tissue paper and glueing it in place.  Again … a mess happened, but I used glue which dries clear so I knew that it wouldn’t be seen once dried.

While the glue dried, I turned my attention to the lid ….

I didn’t want a shiny gold lid,  but wanted something which looked old and almost creaky, so wanted to ‘rust up’ the jar lid. I used a tried and trusted method, using Rust-it, made by Pinflair which always gives great results.  One coat works well, but two coats really takes it to town!  (And each coat dries really quickly – so you’re not hanging about all day for it to dry.)

Two coats of Rust-It, and it looks like I found it in a good old-fashioned English, secret, walled garden. Perfect!

Although it was now lovely and old-looking, I wanted to give it a little something to make it more special….

Glitter Paste by Pinflair, in Aqua and Copper.  The paste looks thick when you open the lid but it’s a lot more ‘fluid’ when you start to use it.  It spreads very easily, so apply a little at a time as it goes a long way.

I missed taking a couple of photographs at this point as I got carried away with myself … so I’ll have to catch you up with words … 

By this time you should have chosen your fairy and are ready to add her to your Fairy Jar.  Simply choose the position you want her in and then using an instant fix glue (we call it Super Glue here in the UK.  It bonds in seconds and can be used on paper and glass amongst other things).  This will hold your Fairy in place.

Once you’re happy that she’s not going anywhere …   you’re ready to adhere some tissue paper to the outside of your jar.  You can simply use PVA glue for this, and just one sheet of tissue paper. (one sheet thick – if you need more tissue to go around your jar, obviously use more.  But only one sheet thickness).

Spread PVA over part of your jar,  (make it a full bottom to top section, but not covering the screw part where the lid fits, obviously) then lay the sticky part down on your sheet of tissue paper, lifting it up straight away, otherwise the glue will quickly make the tissue tacky and it will stick to your work surface. eeeek!

Do this all over your jar, in sections at a time, until you’ve covered the whole of the jar.  Allow it to dry.  (Give it about an hour).  Then you can begin decorating the outside.

Add some magic to the outside of your jar using glitters and anything else you feel will give you the result you want.  Here you can see that I’ve used a mixture of Pinflair Ice Diamond – which is really chunky type glitter – but it’s not twinkly like normal glitter.  It’s got a fabulous magical feel to it.  I also added just a tiny bit of Pinflair Snow Dust – just to give the outside a sort of crisp look.

For this jar I tied string around the neck,  however you can use ribbons, straw, or anything which gives you the look you’re after. (On the previous Fairy Jar I made, I used a hessian ribbon – which I loved. You can find that jar on the Cobweborium blog).

Then …  add your flowers … or anything else you’d like to have on your Fairy Jar.  You can personalise it in a gazillion ways.  Whatever takes it in the direction you want it to go!

There are many things you could add to your Fairy Jar.  Here, on this, (2nd) Fairy Jar, I’ve added a ‘Key to the Land of the Fae’, and a tiny vial of ‘Fairy Dust’, which has been corked and then sealed with pink wax.

The Key to the Land of the Fae, and a glass vial of Fairy Dust.

One side of the Fairy Jar ….

The other side of the Fairy Jar …  but … this jar has a secret ….  and it’s on the back …

Hidden within the jar isn’t just a Fairy, but it also hides a Fairy Wishing Tree!  On the outside of the back of the jar, I added some nature, some nurture and some love.

Time to add a little magic.  Shall we?

 

The inner light, although magical looking, is made by T.Lights.  BATTERY operated T. Lights.  Please, please don’t use real candles.  Paper, card and candles don’t mix well.  Only ever use battery operated T.Lights inside Fairy Jars.

The Fairy Wishing Tree, lit from within.

The side of the Fairy Jar …  but do you see what I see?  There is one light at the base ….  and another light half way up the jar.  How can that be?  Is it floating?  Is it … MAGIC?

If you’re making a Fairy Jar for yourself,  you’ll find that it’s best to use smaller fairies as the lights from your T.lights will only shine and flicker at the base of your jar.  However, I wanted to use a larger fairy,  so had to figure out a way to let a light shine further up the jar.  I could have bought some of those short lengths of craft lights – a little like Christmas Tree Fairy Lights – only made for crafters and operated by battery,  but I wanted that warm glow that you get from a candle so … I found a way of making that happen. ….

I made a little gizmo out of Florist’s Wire, which I loosely wrapped around the ‘flame’ of the lower candle and then supported another candle which kind of hovered about it.  I’ve taken more photos from other angles so that you could see how this wire frame works…

Make sure, if you make one of these, that you bend the end of the wire at the top so that you don’t put your hand inside the jar and get stabbed by it.  It would be jolly painful!  So bend it over and make a sort of handle so that you can easily lift it out of the jar to turn the candles on/off.

Photo taken from ‘underneath’  showing how the wire is bent under the upper T.Light,  to support it.  Then shaped around the outside of the T.Light and over the top, and around the ‘flame’ to anchor it.

Photo taken from over the top of both of the candles.  You can see that the candles pretty much line up, and also how the wire extends over the top of the candle and wraps gently around the flame to just keep the wire in place.

This wire support isn’t made of stiff wire, but it’s ‘bendable’ wire,  so take a little care when using it.  But if you knock it out of shape when you’re turning the T.Lights off and on, then you can easily just fiddle with it to make it stand up again.  Once you get used to the way it needs to be bent, you’ll get the hang of it.

I loved making this Fairy Jar and particularly loved the little roses I chose.  They were exactly the shade I was thinking of in my mind, and as if by magic … there they were!

Well that’s me done and dusted.

Hope you’ve had a good weekend, and that your week ahead turns out to be a happy one without too many problems or struggles, and that any problems you come across aren’t anything which you can’t handle.

Thank you SO much for coming and sharing some time with me.  I so enjoy your company.  Please feel welcome to leave a few words via a comment, and I promise to reply.  I love your comments as it gets us all chatting to each other, and other people reading get a feel for what you’re like and will want to come and visit your blog too.  It makes blogging world go around so well!

If there’s anything which I’ve forgotten to mention and you’d like to ask about, please ask away.  I’m more than happy to help if I can.

Well all that’s left for me to say is … Have a  truly Blessed rest of your day!

Sending crafty hugs  . . .

 

 

 

 

To capture a Fairy in a Jar . . .

To capture a Fairy in a Jar ...  you simply have to be gentle and kind, and want to capture her (or him) with all your heart.

I originally found a photograph of a fairy in a jar on Pinterest. I fell in love with it instantly and literally stopped everything I was doing and got all the supplies out on my desk and began to make my own jar ready to capture my fairy, right there and then.

I’ll warn you now that this blog post is photo heavy.  I totally forgot to take pictures at each stage of the make, simply because I was SO into making it.  But I’ve taken a photograph from all angles of the finished fairy in my jar, so that you can see it all around and even on top, and I’ve taken photo’s in sunlight from the window in my craft room,  at dusk in my craftroom and even in the house in the darkness – at night-time, with all the lights off.   So here goes, dear reader.  Get ready for lots of photos ….

My Captured Fairy in a Jar with the lid off.  But she didn’t want to escape!  She preferred to gaze at her star and make wishes!

Showing the left hand side of the Fairy in a Jar.  You can see the grass which the Fairy is sitting in.

The right hand side of the Fairy Jar.

The back of the Fairy Jar ~ created by Cobwebs.

looking at the jar with the lid in place, from above.

I chose to keep the lid of the jar, as I wanted to have a choice of how it was displayed (lid on/lid off).  My original idea was to have the lid on during the daytime when the Tea lights weren’t alight, and leave the lid off at night when the lights were switched on.  But I actually love it both ways.

I did, at first, decorate the glass lid with white cotton fabric (like shirt fabric), which I tied on with string around the  knob on the top.  (It was glued in place).  I decorated it with buttons and flowers.  However, when I stood back to look at it, I wondered if I’d like it better if I’d have done the same thing on the lid as I’d done to the jar itself.  I lived with it for a couple of days, then stripped the cotton off, scrubbed it clean again and decorated it to match the jar.  And …. I love it like that!

The Fairy Jar without the Tea Lights lit and no flash from the camera, just lit by the light from the window.

Lit only by the light from the window.

Showing the Tea Lights inside.

You should only use battery operated Tea Lights inside a Fairy Jar.  That’s so important that I’m going to say it again:  YOU SHOULD ONLY USE BATTERY OPERATED TEA LIGHTS IN A FAIRY JAR!  This is because you’ve glued paper and or card to the inside of the jar.  Paper/Card and Candles DON’T MIX WELL  – unless you want to start a FIRE!  We don’t want any accidents … so please don’t even try out a candle inside the jar.  Please, please buy battery operated Tea Lights for your version of a Fairy Jar. You don’t have to put three in if you don’t want to.  One works … Two makes things twinkle brighter, and three, for some reason, makes Fairy Wings seem to flutter just a little.  Why is that, I wonder?  It must be Fairy magic!

Even with no lights on an only the sunlight from the window to light it in order to take the photos, the Fairy Jar still looks incredible.

Another view of the Jar from above, so that you can see it without any light other than that from the window.  Still looks lovely, doesn’t it!

My wonderful little Grandson comes to visit at the weekend and we have him for about 5/6 hours to give mum and dad a little free time to do stuff.  When he came last weekend, I introduced him to the “Fairy Shadow I caught in a Jar!”  …  I didn’t want him to hear me say I actually caught a Fairy in a jar, because … well, he knows me to be kind and loving, and anyone who’s kind and loving most certainly doesn’t catch a Fairy and stuff them into a jar!  So I explained that I’d caught a Fairy’s shadow.  That sounded much nicer, more gentle, more kind and loving.

I didn’t think he’d be over-impressed, after all it was just a Fairy, and the big thing in his life was CARS!  – however he was awestruck!  I came in from my craft room, carrying the already lit and lidded jar really carefully, and I whispered to him that he had to:  “be very quiet and careful because I’ve captured a Fairy Shadow in a Jar!”  ….  I placed the jar down on the coffee table so that he could see it.  His little face was a picture.  He got down on the floor and perched his chin on the coffee table and gazed, . . .  and his eyes grew to the size of saucers!  There was so much magic showing on his face and in his eyes.  So much ‘awesomeness’ (I don’t think that’s a word,  I think I made it up for the purpose of explaining – lol).  He looked at it for ages.  Then, moving quietly around the coffee table – he examined it carefully from all angles.  All of a sudden  … he slowly lifted his arm,  and with one finger he delicately reached out and  v.e.r.y.  gently  touched  the side of the Fairy  Jar,  almost as if he wasn’t sure if what he thought he was looking at, was actuall really, really there!   Thankfully …  I managed to capture that very moment on my camera . . .

My Grandson – aka ‘The Funshine of my Life’ – was incredulous.  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing with his own eyes.

I was totally thrilled to pieces that he liked it.  Everybody else could hate it if they wanted to,  but the fact that he liked it, was so impressed and so awestruck by it meant the absolute world to me.

I was so engrossed in the making of this Fairy Jar that, as I said previously,  I totally forgot to take photographs of each step of the making.  However …  I’ve got something better than my explanations.  A video, which you’ll find at the end of this post.

I enjoyed making this so so much.  It was fun from the start to the end.  I was going to give it away,  but, once it was made  …  I fell head over heels in love with it and couldn’t part with it.

In the video which you’re about to watch  …  White tissue is used in the making.  I however used a VERY PALE pink tissue in this project (above)  and as you can see, it worked perfectly – as you can see from the photos.  But it was simply a matter of choice.  I have a selection of tissue colours.  Something about the pale pink called to me, and I found my hands reaching for it.  So … don’t feel you have to follow the instructions to the letter.  If there’s something you want to do which will make a fairy jar yours and yours alone, then do it!  If you want to use  …red tissue then do so!  Blue tissue to make it look icy?  Go ahead!  Oh – and do post some photo’s on your blog, and then come back here and let me know so that I don’t miss your fairy, because I’d love to see more of these.  I’m already planning another one and I’ve just today found a wonderful jar in the shed which will work brilliantly!

Edit 29/6/16 – to Add:-   There is  NEW  FAIRY  JAR,  complete with photographs of how it was made,   here:  https://thecobweboriumemporium.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/a-fairy-captured-in-a-fairy-jar/    . . . .  It will open in another window for you. ~ Cobs.

 

If, after watching the video, there’s anything that you want to ask about the Fairy Jar In the photographs above, which I may have forgotten to mention, then please feel free to ask in a comment here and I’ll answer you within 24 hours.  One thing I think I haven’t mentioned is that the glitter I used on the outside of the jar was a chunky glitter, not the fine stuff, which I mixed a little card makers ‘snow’ into it, just to add that ‘frosted’ look to the whole thing.

So,  that’s me done and dusted for another beautiful day.  It’s been a little windy around here the last few days.  But thankfully we were not ‘hit’, other than a few branches in our garden came tumbling down – but nothing structurally was hit, so I’d call that blessed.

I hope you too have a truly blessed day.  Remember to stop and enjoy life – even for just a moment, and in that moment be thankful for all you too are blessed with.

Sending love ~

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