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!

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.

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.

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 ~

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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  ~  

 

The Fairy Wedding Dress ~ hiding inside a little Altoids tin!

You are invited to a very special Royal Wedding….

 

No, don’t get excited. It’s not a delayed in the post invite to THAT wedding, because THAT wedding happened a week ago.   This is a different wedding altogether! 

❤  ~  ❤  ~  ❤

I’ve been trying to share this Fairy Wedding Tin for the last week,  and … well life got in the way and the rest is history.  But here I am now, doing the sharing!  Whoo hoo!

Chatting with another blogger, (Gillyflower)  in comments on my  last Altoids (size) Tin Transformation (<– clickable link)   a couple of weeks ago,  I told her that I had plans for a Fairy Themed Tin …. and began it straight away.  So this is me, sending you an invitation to come and share the secret of the tiny, all handmade (by me), ‘Fairy Wedding Dress hidden inside a Tin’!

Let’s begin at the beginning, shall we?

The Front of the Altoids size Tin is the first page of a three page ‘book’  which is an introduction to what’s inside the tin!

The front of the tin is the beginning of the story.  There are another two pages to the ‘book’, which are held closed by a small hidden magnet.

It says:   The Fairy Prince asked the Fairy girl to marry him, and she said ‘Yes’!  So with lots of excitement, a Fairy Wedding was planned.  With the finest silk spiders put to work, spinning the finest webs to make the finest Fairy Wedding dress.  On the opposite page is a tiny sketch of a wedding dress.

Then …  you open the tin to see the Wedding Dress of the Year (well, almost), which was all hand-made by Cobwebs.  er …. using Cobwebs …  ah,  no … er,  umm  ….  aw… just open the tin!

I wanted to do a fancy arty type of photo.  Black and white, but the dress and tree in colour.  Not sure it’s worth the effort, but it was an enjoyable few minutes of play-time.  😀

All the papers you see lining the inside of the little Tin are Graphic 45 ~ Fairy Dust.

The bodice of the Wedding Gown was made from lightweight, air dry clay.

That’s an English Penny you see at the base of the tin, in the centre.  An English Penny is (roughly) the same size as an American penny.

The tin measures 9cm tall,  and 6.cm wide, which is approx or just over  3.5″  in inches tall and 2.36 inches wide,  and it’s just over three quarters of an inch deep.

The Fairy Ballet Shoes you can see hanging from the knob, next to the mirror, are also made by me, and are roughly about a third of the size of a penny.

The dress isn’t dangling on the floor of the tin, as it looks in that last photo.  I can actually put my finger between the ‘grass and flowers’ and the bottom of the wedding dress … which you can see in the next photo .  .  .

… can you see the grass and flowers beneath the dress, in the above (bit fuzzy) photograph?

The dress is festooned with soft pink and red flowers, with bits of greenery here and there.  It has a sparkly ribbon around the waist, and a petticoat made from white cheesecloth fabric.   The skirt of the dress is topped off with two layers of pure white, fine, Tulle. The shoulder straps on the bodice are satin.

The tree which the dress is hanging from was made from a Pine twiggy bit which I found in my garden, which has been drying out for weeks in my craft room.  I didn’t have any plans for it at the time I picked it up (and thanked nature for it), but I knew I’d use it in some way, and ….  this Fairyland Wedding altered Tin is the perfect place!

I really enjoyed making this lovely altered Tin, and would love to make one like it again at some point.  But making a different sort of dress next time.  I have a million thoughts about what sort of dress and how it might look.  But … this tin was quite an intensive make.  All stops, starts and stops again, as I waited for bits of things to set / dry etc, – and I will freely admit that patience isn’t one of my strongest virtues.

 

Anyhooo  … that’s me done and dusted for this lovely Monday. I’m so glad that I finally got to sorting the photos out, and getting to share this Altered Tin with you.

I’ve spent the weekend just gone, trying to catch up with other peoples blog posts that I’ve missed.  Now I think I’m up to date …. but just in case my ‘Reader’ is telling me porky pies, and I’ve missed a blog post of yours, please do let me know in a comment so that I can come and catch up!

Thank you so much for coming, and for having a coffee moment with me.  I love seeing you here.  I’m sorry I’m sometimes missing in action – I have some health issues which are being a proper pain in the ‘you know where’. (not literally, you understand.  I have no problems with my ‘you know where‘).  But …  let’s not bother about the health issues, for they are like dragons.  They’re only scary if you think about them too much!  So we won’t.  😀

As always. . .  I love your company and love to chat with you, so please feel welcome to comment.  Let me know what you think.  Let me know what’s going on in your life.  And … if you’re in the United Kingdom, then today is a Bank Holiday – so let me know what you’re planning to do with this day off work (if you have the day off work – ’cause some folks aren’t able to.).

Have a magnificent Monday, whatever you’re doing, and a truly blessed, wonderful week.  Sending much love to you ~ 

Pixie Wallow ~ Pixie Crafting with Little Cobs

At my Grandsons, Little Cobs, school they have a ‘project’ which involves a teddy bear called Barnaby.  Each child in the class gets to take Barnaby the Bear home with them for a few days, and Barnaby gets to spend time sharing the family outings, games, toys, meals, visits etc., and the children (with the help of parents, guardians, grandparents) write the story of what Barnaby has been doing while he’s been staying with them.

Little Cobs Daddy (Son in Law) told me about Barnaby, and suggested that perhaps Barnaby Bear would like to come with Little Cobs to visit Grammy and Grandad, and maybe Grammy could do some crafting with Little Cobs and take photographs, print them out and they could then be included in the story book of Barnaby’s time spent with Little Cobs and all the things he did.

And this is the [mostly pictorial] story of how Barnaby Bear came to visit Grammy and Grandad and joined in with some crafting with Little Cobs and his Grammy.

I’ve made little tiny things for years (and years and years – more than I care to own up to).  I love small detail.  And ... I used to make little houses, paint and attach them to various items and used to sell them for just enough money to cover the costs of actually making them.  Now about a month ago, Pinterest (that well known joyful time-waster) sent me an email with pictures of things it suggested I might like.  Among those photos were some little Fairy Houses which reminded me of the Fairy homes I used to make many years ago.  This gave me an idea for what I thought Little Cobs, and Barnaby Bear, might like to make, and the following photographs show you what happened, how it happened, who made it happen, and how it all turned out in the end.

Once upon a time, two and a half weeks ago, there was a boy, a bear, a mug and some clay….

I showed Little Cobs how to make a tiny Pixie House using clay.  My bright little chap got the idea first time and, using just two fingers, he made two perfect little houses, while Barnaby Bear watched and learned.

The little boy then made some Mushroom Caps, and held them up for Barnaby Bear to pass his expert eye over.  Barnaby, as it turned out, is an expert at all things Fairy and Pixie.  What a stroke of luck that was!

Progress  …  Two expertly created Pixie Houses, and two miraculous, magical, Mushroom Caps.

We put the newly made clay pieces to one side and filled the chosen mug and fixed moss in place, to give the feeling of being in Fairy/Pixie Land. (see the Mug Garden over to the left of the photo).  Next came PAINTING!  The little boy – aka Little Cobs, is pretty expert at using a paint brush now and I’m wondering if perhaps I could get him doing a bit of decorating around Cobweb Towers.  Free child labour – and at my favourite price. lol

As you can see, Barnaby Bear was definitely taking his job as Quality Control Bear, very seriously indeed!

It’s a really pretty plate – but not one we use for food.  It just sits around waiting for some passing crafter to blob paint onto it in order to give it a use.  

Once all the paint was dry, and after the artist had had an afternoon snack and a bit of a play, Little Cobs placed all his beautiful handmade pieces in the places he wanted them to be so that he could check for position.  Once perfect, he gave the go ahead for everything to be fixed in place.

A few small resin flowers were added, just for artisticness, (not a real word but it’s so ‘juicy’ that once I’d made it up I simply had to use it), a couple of teeny tiny pine cones and some general florestry bits – just to make it feel like home to any passing Fairy or Pixie who might be looking for a place for the summer.

Barnaby Bear suggested that the whole scene needed a name, so Little Cobs and I came up with Pixie Wallow, and Grammy built a name label on the computer and printed it out for Little Cobs to fix it to the outside of the cup, so that everyone knew what it was.

I’m reliably informed that Barnaby was very happy with Pixie Wallow, and it passed the Inspection Test with a gold star!

It’s ready for a close up, Mr. Demille …  (those who’ve watched Sunset Boulevard will get that one).

All the painting is Little Cobs own, apart from tiny bits where I showed him what he needed to do before I handed over the paint brush, and two spots on one of the Mushroom caps, just to show him how to get that magical ‘dot’ in the right place, in the right size.  He made the houses, the mushroom caps and was the ideas man for how the whole scene was to look.

Little Cobs, Barnaby Bear and myself had an absolutely great time making this.  Lots of laughs and lots of stories about who would eventually live in the Pixie Houses, and who would come and sit on the mushrooms and play in the garden.

Before I go may I share a surprise that I had a couple of days ago.  I got sent an Anniversary Achievement by WordPress . . .

…  four years!  FOUR YEARS I’ve been blogging, and yet if you’d have asked me I would have guessed about…  maybe 2 to 2 and a half years tops.  I can hardly believe it.  Four years,  and I’ve loved every single day of it, and that’s because I’ve shared it with you.

I’ve made so many lovely friends via my blog and have and am enjoying so many blogs which are owned by others.

So thank you, dear reader, for filling my last four years with joy and fun.  I’ve loved getting to know you and hope to continue doing so, and also hope to get to know all the new people who join The Cobweborium Emporium,  or that I find in blog land.

Thank you so much for coming today and sharing Pixie Wallow.  Have a truly blessed rest of your day.

 

 

 

 

New Fairy Dragon Eggs, & meet one of the makers!

A hundred years ago ….  Ok, I might be exaggerating just slightly there. Let’s begin again.

Last month (February) I shared some Fairy Dragon Eggs that Little Cobs (my grandson) and I had made together.  They were a smash hit with him and he loved them.  So much so that I thought that while he was so enchanted with them, perhaps we could make just one or maybe two more, and enclose them so that they were protected, and (more importantly) they wouldn’t get lost or damaged.  So I put my thinking cap on and came up with the perfect idea.

Little Cobs comes for a visit on Tuesdays.  We collect him from School and he comes to Cobweb Towers for a bit of fun and his tea.

So on the previous day,  (Monday),  I made two tiny eggs – one around 2.5cm tall (just under an inch) and another approximately 1.25cm (which is little bit under half an inch), which I made from Hearty air dry clay, as I wanted them to be light in weight, and quick to dry.

Hearty Clay comes in a variety of colours, and they even have a super lightweight clay which would be fabulous for card adornments which have to go through the post.

The following day we went to collect him from school and, once he was safely ensconced in the car, I told him that I had got two tiny Fairy Dragons eggs in the house, and wondered if he would like to make them look amazing, since he was now considered an expert at Fairy Dragon Eggs.  He was all over the idea and didn’t stop talking about it all the way home.

He bounced into the house, hung his coat up, and was waiting at the table before I’d even managed to take my own coat off!

I stupidly didn’t bother taking photo’s of the undecorated eggs, because I thought “everyone knows what a white egg looks like” – but am now wishing that I’d have taken a photo of them,  next to a real [chicken] egg  –  so that you could see the size difference.  They looked exactly like eggs from the smallest chicken in the world!  Even the little chap said over and over how cute they were. Bless him.

I put out all the ‘Fairy Colours’ of Pinflair Buff-It, and told him to choose the ones he wanted to use.  He wanted them all.  (Thankfully I’d left the pots of ‘duller’ colours in the drawer).

I got out a selection of [cheap – pound shop] cosmetic sponges and put one on top of each of the Buff-it colours and he went to town.  He needed no reminder of how to apply the colours, and was so delicate and gentle.  Finally, when every last bit of both eggs was covered in the magical colours, he took a tissue and gently ‘polished’ them and made them shine and glow.

The Magical Eggs shone, and his eyes shone and twinkled as he gazed at them.

I then produced something which caused him to gasp.  A tiny miniature ‘cake’ stand and matching dome.  I told him that we were going to put these eggs inside the dome and then seal the dome so that no one else could ever touch them, and, even better,  they would never get lost!  “They’ll be sealed inside the dome for alllll eternity.  For ever and ever and ever!”  I said. (trying to sell him the idea because I thought he might not ‘see’ my vision).  He saw. He loved the thought that he would be the only person who knew what these eggs felt like in his hand.

By the time we were ready to put the eggs into the dome it was almost time for him to go home, so I said that I could do that bit, he just had to show me where to put the Fairy Dragon Eggs inside the dome so that I got it perfectly right.  He put them on the stand, and then carefully put the dome on top.  He sat at the table and looked . . .   then gave me a whole new set of instructions of exactly how he wanted things done:

“Grammy – they need petals.  Flower petals.  On the bottom, and the eggs on the top of the petals.  Like in a nest.  You put petals on there and then the eggs on the petals”.

He looked deep into my eyes to see if I understood.  I smiled at him and repeated what he’d said, pointing to the cake stand top, to show I knew where he meant the petals to be.  He seemed satisfied that I understood.

Daddy arrived to collect him, and the last thing Little Cobs whispered to me was: “Don’t forget the PETALS, Grammy!”.   Bless his beautiful heart.  He melts me every time I see him.

I did exactly as I was instructed to do.  I didn’t forget the petals:

It was stupidly difficult to photograph the Fairy Eggs when they were sealed inside their dome home, as the light kept bouncing off the curves.  But I did manage one which isn’t great – it’s a bit dull and flat, but it gives a slightly clearer view:

That’s a penny in the picture, for reference

As you can see . . .  I didn’t forget the petals.  😀  lol.

In the end, I loved the look of these so much that I’ve decided that I’m going to make some for myself. They look so impressive in real life that I just HAVE TO!

When he came on the Saturday, he fell in love with his Fairy Dragon Eggs all over again. He took them home at the end of the day, and his mummy (daughter No.2) told me a couple of days later, that the Fairy Eggs had barely left his side since he’d taken them home.  He was carrying them around with him everywhere he played.

I promised, in the title of this post, that you could meet the maker . . .  and you shall…

We’ve had snow here in Dorset in the last few days, and obviously, like all children do – Little Cobs wanted to play in it … and his mummy took photo’s.  She sent me some in a text message … and although I’m extra mega careful of sharing photographs of children on-line,  I asked, for the first time ever, if mummy would mind if I shared one of the photographs on my blog, so that you could see the little chap who I’m totally nuts about … and mummy said yes!

So here, with an enormous amount of pride [which bursts out of me like rays of the brightest sun, shining through every pore on my body], is my fabulous Grandson – Little Cobs…

photograph not for reproduction – altered or otherwise.

…  I’m totally dotty about this child. He’s an incredibly handsome little chap.  The product of a very pretty mommy (daughter No.2) and a very handsome daddy (son-in-law, husband of D.No.2).   But …  he has my eyes – the same colour of Hazel, with the same flashes of gold dotted randomly around the iris, which really show up when he’s happily excited about something.

This isn’t the end of the crafty creations that he and I have made together over the past couple of weeks.  I still have one final thing to share – but that will wait for another day.

Thank you for coming and sharing a coffee with me.  Wishing you a happy rest of your day. 

Love . . . 

 

 

Fairy Dragon Eggs ~ the Cobs way.

I said last week (in The Wand of Doom post) that Little Cobs (my Grandson) and I had done another crafty project together, which I’d share in another post, and I’m here today to share that crafty project, along with some others which I started off, and he finished.  All of what you are about to see were made with Little Cobs.

It all began with me mentioning that I knew that Fairies had Fairy Dragons which they rode on, and which protected all of Fairy Land from any dangers like fierce dogs or Ogres(!),  and,  I said,  those Fairy Dragons laid eggs, from which Baby Dragons were born!

Little Cobs, naturally wanted to see a Fairy Dragon Egg.  Hmm.  Now I’d seen on Pinterest and on someone else’s blog, some ‘Dragon Eggs‘ which were just incredible.  But … not suitable at all for a small child, as they were made from drawing pins (thumb tacks).  Knowing Little Cobs as I do, I knew that he’d pick those pins out one at a time until there was a trail of them through the house!

So I had to come up with another idea.  And I did.  And …  that original idea turned into another one, and then it made me think of something else … and on and on until …  well …  I’ll share the photos, and then you’ll see.

It all began with a polystyrene egg …  which I painted first to take away the white (but you can get away without doing that bit, if you want to try this out).  Then, using glue gel in a syringe, I fixed assorted Candi (made by Craftwork Cards) and overlapped the Candi  dots, to make the ‘Dragon Scales’.

Photo showing the egg, half way through the making process.

Once I’d  finished fixing all the Candi dots in place, the egg looked like this ….

A Dragon Egg . . .  but it needed ‘the Magic!’

The glue gel needs 24 hours to dry – and unless you’re really careful, I’d suggest covering the egg with the Candi dots in two sessions.  It’s not a quick to do project, so don’t think you’ll get away with it being finished in an hour.  You get quicker as you get used to it … but it’s still a good couple of hours or more to cover an egg.

The egg looked impressive exactly like that – and Little Cobs loved it … but it needed some Fairy Magic to actually bring it to that special place that children love.  So …  out came the Buff It – by Pinflair.  (one of my most favourite crafting items in my craft room – I absolutely love it!).  I told my project manager (aka Little Cobs)  to choose three colours of the Buff it – which took him ages, – that kid likes to change his mind a lot!  lol.  I gave him a cosmetic sponge and showed him how to get just a little bit of Buff It on the sponge, and gentle swipe it over the Dragon Scales on the Egg.  And when we’d finished,  this ….  is what had happened …

 

He was absolutely delirious with joy at this egg.  He didn’t want to put it down.  He took it to Grandad so that it could be admired.  He showed it to the Dog, and even to Alf Capone (one of the cats), who I interpreted for (I speak several languages – English, Dog, Cat, Horse, Rabbit and [mostly] Gobbledygook), and said that Alf was very impressed and believed that it really was a Fairy Dragon Egg – adding that Alf would know this because he played with the fairies every single day!

 

From there, we went on to colour another Egg I’d pre-made ready for him, this time using all Pink Candi dots . . .

…  as you can see we coloured that one totally in Antique Gold Buff It – and you can just see the pink of the Candi Dots peeping out from between the scales, which kind of gives it a sort of rosey glow about it.

…. this picture (above) is of the exact same egg, but stood up (balanced on a glitter shaker lid), with a penny coin, so that you can get an idea of the size.

So, those Candi dot eggs completed,  out came some more polystyrene eggs, only this time I did something totally different with them, and Little C and I coloured them up  … and here’s what they look like…

This effect of a lumpy, bumpy egg came about by using a heat gun.  Now if you try it yourself be aware that you have to be REALLY careful with the heat.  Firstly … DON’T HOLD THE EGG IN YOUR HAND while using the heat gun on it.   And don’t hold the heat in one place for too long.  You have to keep the heat moving around and know when to stop heating.  As soon as you begin to see a result that you like, then stop.

Little Cobs wanted to use only Pearl coloured Buff It on this bumpy egg,  but I said that it might look a little boring so talk him into letting me add just little bits of colour, here and there, and blended them well, so that it looked as if it had that lustre of a real pearl – or the colours of Mother of Pearl.

My Project Manager made the executive decision of BLUUUE! (said like that too! lol) – for this egg.  Again, this lovely effect was done using the heat gun – but very gently.   Once we’d coloured up the egg and Little C had ‘polished’ it to a sheen, it was just fabulous… in fact, it reminded me of a Chocolate Easter Egg, wrapped in foil and waiting for me to break it open and eat!

And finally . . .  I wanted to do something that wasn’t Dragon …  something with more ROAR and GROWL and ARGGH!  . . .  and thought that perhaps I could get a result that was more grungy and pitted – in the hope of making a Dinosaur Egg!

 

This result came from carefully heating the egg in places for a while, then coming back and heating that bit again, then again and again – until the desired result came about. It was still bumpy in some places, but more grungy in others.  I have no idea what a Dinosaur Egg might look like, but this, I decided was what our Dino Egg was going to look like. 🙂

The Project Manager decided upon brown and green for the Dinosaur egg,  and to be honest,  I think he chose the perfect colours for it.  They really worked as Dinosaur colours.

All in all we had an absolute ball of a time with these eggs. Great Crafting projects and lots of fun both in the making of and in the colouring up.

Oh crikey!  … almost forgot ... all of the papers you see in the photographs is all Graphic 45 paper – from one of their more recent collections:  ‘Fairy Dust’.

And that’s all there was to it!  😀

I still have two special eggs to show you – but those will be for another time.  I think I’ve kept you here long enough, and that bit of coffee you’ve got left in your cup must surely be cold by now.  Shall I get you another?  Or do you have to rush off?

Thank you so much for coming.  Happy Monday!  I hope your week ticks along nicely, with no problems which make you pull your hair out, and no troubles like finding out you’ve got the work or the shops and forgotten your purse or keys.

May an Angel pass over your house and sprinkle your home with love, peace, joy and all the stuff which will give you contentment.

Have a blessed rest of your day, and a truly lovely week.

Sending squidges ~