Airy Spirits ~ Textile Art

Continuing with my new hobby love ~ a little more Textile Art, only this time, something with wings.

During the lock-down, due to Covid 19/Coronavirus, my brain got busy and spoke to my fingers, which began conjuring up butterflies. Although textile butterflies aren’t the easiest thing I’ve ever made, they’re mighty enjoyable, and all so precious when I’ve finished them. They all seem to have their own personalities, and they make me smile for one reason or another.

The Nectar Collector

Each one I’ve made is in a different fabric, and this particular one, called: The Nectar Collector; was made from Vintage Embroidered Fabric, which I tea stained then added a little ink to give it a warm peachy effect to the fabric itself

Why is this butterfly called: The Nectar Collector? Ah, well that’s an easy one to answer….

Butterflies ‘eat’ nectar and do so by the use of their ‘tongue’ – they have a long, curled proboscis, which is like a soft drinking straw, which uncoils to sip liquid food, and then coils up again into a spiral when the butterfly isn’t feeding.

But … what happens to all the nectar which the butterflies can’t reach, or miss because they don’t notice it?

Well, *I’m reliably informed by the Fairies which live in Cobweb Wood*, that there are special butterflies whose job it is to go around foraging for all the left over nectar which can be found on flowers, and collect it in special bottles. They then take it back to ‘Nectar Central’, where each of the bottles of nectar are dated, stored on shelves and saved for use on days when it’s too cold to go out or too windy, too blustery or those rainy days when the weather isn’t suitable for delicate Butterfly wings.

*Once all this was explained to me* it totally made sense, as I’m sure it does to you too, now that I’ve explained it to you!

The underside of a Butterflys wings are just as important as the tops, but for a totally different reason. The underside of a butterfly wing is actually called ‘The Ventral Side’. This ventral (under) side is more often than not, used for camouflage so that it can avoid being dinner for some passing bird or frog.

And the importance of the Ventral Side of the wings was important to me too. After all … I don’t want some passing frog to eat the Nectar Collector! So it clearly states on the underside of it’s wings that this butterfly isn’t for chomping on – for this is a Cobwebs Butterfly!

The tops of butterfly wings are used for signalling to another butterfly that the butterfly rather likes them and would like to marry them. (*That’s how it was explained to me, anyhow*).

Before this particular butterfly takes flight and leaves me, when it’s found it’s forever home, there will be a very tiny button sewn to the underside – of a particular colour and shape, which will have a special meaning. An explanation of the meaning of that button, will be sent along with him, so that he can be treasured for the treasure he actually is.

Now before I sign off …

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU – to all who replied and commented on my last post [<— clickable link] and who helped me – because I was near to being a big melted down mess on the floor, and BIG THANKS to those who gave me hints, tips and guidance on how to use the new block editor that WordPress have forced upon us.

As you can see, with your help, I have made a post! [a roar of cheers can be heard from all over the land].

I can’t say that I like the new editor, because I don’t. I REALLY don’t.

• It has no spellcheck;
• No ‘update’ button;
• It won’t colour selected words in a paragraph – but simply colours all the words in that paragraph. (Unless you know a trick to that … and if you do, please share it with me);
• It has pop up boxes which appear out of nowhere and block the view of what you want to see – which I’m sure are meant to be helpful, when the time is right – but they’re a darn nuisance!;
• Things are hidden behind unknown ‘terms’ and names;
• Silly symbols which mean diddly squat to regular, not unintelligent users!;
• Everything about it is so darn tiresome and seems to need an abundance of clicks to do the simplest thing–
• even changing the colour of the words isn’t the one click it used to be!

The new system is clunky, silly, old fashioned in many ways, behind the times and boringly, stupidly long winded.

It truthfully feels like the coding has been written by a junior member of staff instead of someone who knows what she/he is actually doing. It’s taken me a lot longer than I would normally have spent building a post – but . . . at least I now have a post, after lots of help from other WordPress users.

My sincere thanks to you all – for without you, I truthfully would have thrown the towel in and given up. Bless each and every one of you.

Thank you so much for coming today and sharing a coffee and some time with me, while I introduced you to the Nectar Collector – who is the first of my Airy Spirits. I love seeing you here, and love chatting with you all. So please feel welcome to leave a comment. It doesn’t have to be a huge comment, just say hello – because it’s always so nice to know who I’m chatting with.

And …. before I sign off, there HAS to be some Monday jokes:-

Q:- Where are average things manufactured?

A:- The satisfactory.

~~~ ❤ ~~~

Q:- What does Charles Dickens keep in his spice rack?

A:- The best of thymes, the worst of thymes.

~~~ ❤ ~~~

Q:- What do you call an apology written in dots and dashes?

A:- Re-Morse code.

~~~ ❤ ~~~

Q:- What do you call a rooster staring at a pile of lettuce?

A:- A chicken sees a salad.

~~~ ❤ ~~~

Just before I sign off … although I’ve been commenting on blogs over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been told by various bloggers that they’ve found my comments in their spam folders – so … please check your spam folders, as a comment or two might just be hiding there.

Have a wonderful Monday, and a truly blessed week. Sending love and squidges through the ether to you ….

* the ASTERISK * marked * statements [above] may or may not be entirely, exactly d’ twufe, d’ whole twufe and nuffin but d’ twufe. But I’m absolutely certain dere is some sort of twufe.

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Altered Spoons – Cobwebs Spoonie Spoons

In my last post I told The Story of the Spoons, which, if you missed it, or would like a refresh of the story,  you can find HERE.  (it will open up in a new window for you).

I shared a glimpse, at the end of The Spoon Story, of my own personal spoons which related to me and my own story, and promised that I would share each of the spoons in the photograph with you in a separate blog post — and here I am, as promised, sharing my spoons.

In the photograph above, I’ve numbered each spoon so that you can check it against which spoon you’re reading about and looking at.  There are 12 (twelve) spoons in total and each one is decorated differently than any other in the set, and each of them has a meaning to me.  I’ll give a little explanation of each spoon as I share them.  Shall we get on with it?

SPOON 1

The photo on the left shows spoon 1 and a spoon before I’ve given it a make-over.  (The purple rule at the bottom is showing measurements in centimetres).

The close up photo on the right, is the best one out of about ten that I took.  I think it’s the glitter which made this spoon difficult for the camera to know where to focus.  All that twinkling.

The spoon was coloured using Alcohol Inks, then the bowl of the spoon was treated to three different colours of glitter, and I would like to believe it looks like a magical Fairy sky would look at Sunset, with twinkles of many colours.  The crescent moon is a Tibetan Silver charm, of which:-  the moon part I covered in very fine silver glitter dust.  The bright yellow/gold, is a star.  And the Fairy Wings were given a white glitter covering.

SPOON 2

Spoon 2.  This second spoon talks of my love of Poppies. 

My mother grew some spectacular Poppies in her garden, and after she passed, Mr.Cobs collected the dried out Poppy heads so that I could grow her Poppies in our garden.  And then, after we sold our old cottage a few years ago, Mr.Cobs made sure that I had a plentiful supply of Poppy seeds from dried out Poppy heads to take 200 miles to our new cottage and we began to grow those Poppies all over again in our new garden, here in ‘Cobweb Cottage’.

The handle of the spoon is painted in the Poppies and the colours of them – red, black and yellow – using alcohol inks.  The Poppy in the bowl of the spoon is decoupaged, using printed tissue paper and Modge Podge.  The plant pot on the bowl of the spoon which the poppy is ‘growing’ out of, was made by me from clay and I ‘mossed’ it up a little to give it a bit of texture.

SPOON 3

Spoon 3:  Spoon three is about being a Spoonie – as you might have guessed by the teeny tiny spoon on the handle.  I talked about and explained what being a Spoonie was in my last post:  The Story of the Spoons (link supplied in the first paragraph of this post).  The colours of the spoon don’t quite show up as the true colours – but they represent pain, discomfort, golden days of fabulousness, and a touch of black because pain can be a real meanie.  The teeny tiny spoon on the handle basically tells you what the tea-spoon is about.  Again, the colour on the spoon are made using alcohol inks.

SPOON 4 

Spoon 4 is Butterflies.  I love butterflies.  They have a love of life which shows itself in the way they get so excited when they’re flying.  It’s as if, with every flap of their wings, they’re mind-blowing, excitedly saying, over and over,  “I’m alive!  I’m Alive!  I’M ALIVE!”.

I think it was my very first visit to a Butterfly Farm many years ago, which sealed the deal for me regarding butterflies.  I never knew there were SO many  truly  AMAZING  species of butterflies in the world,  and … I found out on that visit, that some butterflies love painted toe nails!!   One butterfly kept me captive, sat on a bench, with my leg stretched out, while it investigated the pinky red nail polish which I had on my toes.  I think it was at that moment that my heart was stolen by that butterfly and I have an allegiance to them for ever more.

Spoon 4 was created using Alcohol Inks,  and I decoupaged the bowl of the spoon.  The silver butterfly is a Tibetan silver charm, and I added those teeny tiny balls, in three colours.  There’s a name for those teeny tiny balls, and right at this moment of typing I cannot remember what the dickens they’re called.  (sigh – brain fog). If any of you can remember, do give my brain a prod in a comment, and I’ll add it here.  (Big Thank You in advance!)

MICRO BEADS!!!  They’re called Micro Beads!   I would dearly love to tell you that my brain started working again, but I won’t tell fibs.  It was the FANTABULOUS  BEVERLY PARKISON from More Ink Please who has a fully working brain and instantly knew what these brilliant beads are called.  Thank you Bev!  ❤

SPOON 5 

Spoon 5  . .  awww, I love, love, love this spoon.  It’s WAY prettier and filled with heaps more magic, than the photo’s show it to be.  It’s what I think a Galaxy should look like.  And … Magic.  I reckon every magic spell should work only after you’ve waved your wand and a flash of magic happens in the colours and ‘amazingness’ of that spoon.

The colours are all made using alcohol inks,  and I then added different types of glitters and teeny, tiny sequins to, and finished it off with some flat backed pearls on the handle.

SPOONs  6  and  7

Spoon 6  (above)  – is one of a pair.  There’s Mr.Bear (as seen on Spoon 6 above),  and there is a Mrs.Bear which is . . .  SPOON 7 (below)

These bear spoons talk about my affection for Teddy Bears.  Not all of them, but there are some bears which ‘speak’ to me and it’s those bears which I fall in love with.  I don’t collect bears though.

I still have my very first Teddy Bear which was given to me not long after I was born, and is actually older than me – (so there IS something which is older than dirt then!).  As a child I loved that bear so much and he went everywhere with me.  Many years have passed since I arrived on this planet, and I still love him (‘Teddy’ – his name is simply ‘Teddy’)  just as much now,  and there are times that I will pick him up and give him a hug – just like I used to all those years ago.

I did have another bear, bought as a Christmas gift by Mr.Cobs, some years ago.  However, one incredible little boy,  Grandson: Little Cobs,  fell in love with him and,  following an urgent phone call one night from his mummy,  I ended up driving like a speed demon, carrying a certain bear on board, to Daughter (No.2) and Son-in-laws house and taking that bear to a sobbing Little Cobs.  He apparently couldn’t continue in life without it.  Being 2 years old, as he was at the time,  is so tough.  😉

Mr and Mrs. Bear spoons were both made using alcohol inks and decoupaged with bear patterned tissue paper, and finally, some of those tiny beads (which I still can’t remember the name of).   amended to add:  They’re called Micro Beads – thank you Beverly Parkison of More Ink Please, for your brain power!

SPOON 8

Spoon 8 . . . tells of my incredulous awe of Dragonflies.  I  LOVE them! They’re the most astonishing, magical little creatures,  made by One who knows more than any artist will ever know.

Dragonfly’s are incredible insects and I am convinced that they’re magical beasts made for fairyland flight.  (hey, Goblins and the like, who have no wings,  have to get around somehow!)

Alcohol Inks were used to create the magical colours to spoon 8.

SPOON 9

Spoon 9 . . .  kind of speaks for itself.  It has a Cobweb (guess why) on the handle, and a tiny handmade (by me) Fairy House nestled in the bowl of the spoon.

I couldn’t get all the colours to shown up in the photo’s, but there’s blue, green, red, yellow, and peach – all of which were obtained using Alcohol Inks.  The bowl of the spoon is decoupaged in tissue and the tiny Fairy Home is finally attached to the bowl.

SPOON 10

Spoon 10 . . . well there had to be a ‘loving spoon’  somewhere in the mix,  because ‘love’ is what I’m all about!  Again, this spoon has some really beautiful colours to the handle, and I love the way the Alcohol Inks blended together in the forming of the pattern down the handle.

The bowl of the spoon was decoupaged with tissue, and I added a wiggly line of three different colours of glitter all around the edge of the spoon.  Finally, I fixed the pink gemstone heart, set in a rose gold colour metal bezel, to the centre of the bowl, added two gems to the handle and VOILA!  Spoon 10 was complete.

SPOON 11

Spoon 11 … is another spoon which features a Dragonfly.  But this one is flying ….and there’s a story behind it:

I once captured a dragonfly – well … I’m not really sure I ‘captured’ it or if it simply wanted me to share its beauty. . . .

It landed on the windowsill outside the dining room window, and I put my hand slowly and carefully next to it as you would if you wanted a bird to step onto your hand.  The dragonfly did that very thing, and I then got Mr.Cobs to put some leaves into a large round glass vase thing.  I offered up the big glass bowl/vase to the dragonfly and . . .  he walked in!!!  (The dragonfly walked in, not Mr.Cobs! eeek! lol).

I knew that Daughter No.2 would have loved to have seen it, but she was only (around) 8 years old at the time, and it was a school day  . . .  the school was only across the road. . .  and I was known at the school as I did some voluntary teaching there with children who had learning difficulties,  . . . so  . . .  I walked the glass vase/bowl over the road to the school, knocked on the classroom door and spoke to the teacher, showing her what I’d got.  She was thrilled to bits, and asked if perhaps I would leave it with them for the afternoon.  I did …. and then when I collected daughter No.2 at the end of the day I took the vase/bowl outside and we released the dragonfly together.  He took off and we watched him until we could see him no more.

That Dragonfly put a memory in my heart so strong and so magical, that I simply had to dedicate a spoon to it.

And finally . . . 

SPOON 12

Spoon 12. . .    the final spoon in the set of twelve spoons, and is a celebration of my love of Pearls.  I have long strings of pearls, short sets of pearls;  medium lengths of Pearls.   One strand, two strands, three strands and four strands.

I have my Grandmothers Pearls (which I got married in, despite everyone telling me that it was bad luck to wear pearls on your Wedding Day).  I’ve got Pearl Earrings – drops, studs and clips, and pearls in different colours.  I have rings with pearls in them – my oldest is a Pearl and Ruby ring bought for me for Mothers Day when our girls were little.

And I have a brand new set of Pearls, shorter than my smallest set, but they’re BIG pearls and the lustre is like they’ve been dusted in Fairy Dust.  They were bought for me as an early Christmas Present, last month.  I saw them, fell in loooooooove with them, and then discovered that they were (just for ten days) on sale at 50% off!  BARGAIN OF THE YEAR!  Mr.Cobs said ‘yes’ straight away when I mentioned them to him, and so the deal was done.

I only have one set of ‘pretend’ pearls – which I wear when I’m with Little Cobs.  Not saying that he would break them – but I would cry a lot less about those being broken than I would about any of my other pearls being broken.

BIG TIP OF THE DAY .. for all you fellow necklace of any sort wearers:  If ever you break your string of beads or pearls, and A) can’t get them re-strung for whatever reason;  and  B) don’t have the special beading string to re-string them with;  then you can use the second best thing….  Dental Floss to re-string them yourself!

Yes, I kid ye not.  Dental floss is really strong and thin enough to go through a bead/pearl and hold a whole length of beads/pearls.

And that’s it.  Cobs Spoons because she’s a spoonie.  (again, if you don’t know what that is, see the link at the top of this post and you’ll be able to read).

Of course …  you don’t have to be a Spoonie to have a set of decorated spoons.  You could have a set just to celebrate who you are.  Or maybe tell a story which is a favourite of yours or someone elses:   Maybe Christmas Bear Spoons?:  Night Before Christmas Spoons?:  Hungry Caterpillar Spoons?:  Harry Potter Spoons:  Wuthering Heights Spoons?:  Apostle Spoons?  – or any thing,  any person,  any story etc etc which means something to you.

You could make one, two, three or as many spoons as you would like, to keep or to give as a gift to someone else.  For a child.  A Wedding Couple.  Anniversary.  Birthday (maybe even give one each year).  Easter.  Christmas.   Spoons in a theme – cats;  dogs;  birds;  cars; fancy handbags;  expensive shoes;  etc.  A spoon for a nurse, your doctor, your childs teachers.  ANYONE.  Obviously, if it’s a gift you’re going to want to present it nicely,  simply wrapped in beautiful tissue and a ribbon.  But it would make such a great gift and because you were making it for a particular person, for a particular reason, it would be personal, and how much more perfect could that be?!!

Do let me know if you feel inspired to make a spoon or two.  You don’t have to spend tons of money.  Just some Tissue Paper, some Modge Podge,  maybe a little glitter or a small decoration (try looking for junk jewellery at your charity shop which  you can break apart and use some of the elements from), and that could be all you need!  Obviously you can get as decorative as you like.  But these metal spoons are a really easy project to make.  Even a total non-crafter could make these.  Truthfully.

Thank you so much for coming and spending some time with me.  It’s great to have your company. 

Wishing you a blessed rest of your day, and a truly fabulous new week . . . 

[Cobwebs:  Cleverly Disguised as an Adult]

The Story of the Spoons.

For the next few minutes I’d like to invite you to come on a [sort of] journey with me.  We’re going to run through a typical day of yours,   but,  we’re going to do it in a way that most of you might not have done before.

There is a saying which goes:  “Everything in life has to be paid for” …  and, when you think about it, it’s pretty much correct.   Now for your journey, I’m going to give you 12 (twelve) spoons.

Here they are.  Your 12 spoons,  all laid out nice and tidy.  

These just happen to be little wooden spoons, but they could just as easily be metal or plastic.  Or maybe big wooden cooking spoons.  Dessert spoons;  tea spoons;  table spoons …  any spoons you like.  Even a total mixture of spoons.  But just twelve of them.

These spoons are going to be your ‘currency’ – but not for buying clothes, sweets, furnishings, etc.  These spoons are a currency for something else entirely.  Something which we all take for granted.

Anyhoo  …  here’s where we begin your journey through your day, and where we ‘spend’ your spoons.   Let’s start with …

• You wake up in the morning.  You sit up and sit on the side of the bed while you put your slippers on and contemplate standing up.  Now doing that  ‘effort’  has just cost you a spoon.  Your balance is now 11 spoons.

• You stand up and make your way to the bathroom.  That effort cost you a spoon.  10 spoons left. . . .

Now … do you have a shower or go and have a coffee first?  Ah, let’s have a shower. . .

• So … shower, towel dry,  and brush your teeth.  Phew!  That was quite an effort!  You just used 2 spoons.  (yes TWO!).  The balance is now 8 spoons.

• You take yourself off to the kitchen,  make a coffee,  eat some breakfast.  Then either watch a little news on the TV,  or read the paper,  or perhaps you log onto your computer and check the news on-line or read/reply to emails.  Pay another 2 spoons.  The Balance on your spoon account is:  6 spoons.

Let’s see …  next on the list is getting to work – by bus or train or car.  Or ... you may be taking the children to school.  Or perhaps you stay home and so maybe cleaning the house or even maybe going shopping!

• Now I know from experience how frustrating getting to work can be, whether you go by car, bus or train (or a combination of all) so just getting to work is going to cost you at the very least 2 spoons.   Your balance is now 4 spoons.
• BUT…  if you don’t go to work and instead you do some cleaning and tidying of the house, then a short walk of the dog, or just a walk yourself for the fresh air and exercise,   then you too will have used up 2 spoons, so that means your balance is 4 spoons also.

Let’s say that it’s now 11.30am.  You began the day with 12 spoons, and you now have  only 4 spoons left.

4 spoons.  It’s only 11.30am, and you still have things to do before lunch, and still have to get through lunch!  You’d better pace yourself.

You decide to just sit at your desk and work.  Not getting out of your seat or expending more than the necessary energy you absolutely need to, just to get you to lunch time.  Or … if you’re at home, you decide the best thing to do would be to sit and watch some day time TV and relax as much as possible.  You need to hang on to your spoons!!!

• Lunch time arrives.  You have to leave your desk to go and buy lunch, or leave the sofa to go and make lunch.  This effort costs you 1 spoon.  3 spoons left.

Three spoons, and you know that you still have to get home from work,  and, or – if you don’t go out to work, then you have to prepare and cook dinner.  Even if it’s only for yourself, you still have to make yourself something … and there are only 3 spoons left.  It’s now 2.30pm.  You’re going to have to work out how to go through till dinner time with only three spoons.

The afternoon sat at your desk (or on the sofa) sounds like the best thing – but you won’t be able to go and get yourself a coffee or tea, or even water …. because that would cost you a spoon.  But you’re going to get thirsty and then you’ll get dehydrated which will give you a headache.  Oh dear, what to do?

• It’s now 4.30pm and you’re hot, dehydrated, uncomfortable and getting just a little ratty because you’re in need of water.  You HAVE to get water.  You think carefully . . .  and tell yourself to get TWO cups or glasses of water so that you don’t have to stand up and get another glass if you get thirsty again.  So you do that very thing.  Two glasses of water.  You’re happy.  You feel like you’ve beaten the system.  YAY!

But you’ve lost another spoon!  Spoon Balance:  TWO

It’s now time to go home from work, – or time to get off the sofa and begin the preparation of food for dinner.  The journey into work cost you 2 spoons – so you have just enough spoons to get you home.  RELIEF!   All your spoons used up, but you’re on your way home!  phew!  That was a close thing!

Or … if you don’t go out to work:  you use up one spoon preparing a simple dinner.  So therefore you have one spoon left. 

Then doorbell rings.  Aw who the heck can that be? 

• You go and answer the door.  It’s the next door neighbour bringing the big punch bowl that she borrowed for her party last weekend.  She stays for a chat on the doorstep – which is lovely because you haven’t seen a soul all day, so it’s really fabulous to see someone and chat!   She shares with you how the party went and how thrilled she was that she’d borrowed your punch bowl.  A five-minute chat quickly turns into 12 minutes of laughing and talking about the weather, the garden, the cost of living.  But eventually she leaves.  You bring the punch bowl into the kitchen and realise how drained you feel, having had to stand at the door with that heavy crystal glass punch bowl in your arms, getting heavier and heavier as the minutes pass by …. and all the time knowing that if you didn’t sit down in a moment you were going to fall down!

You go into the living room and flop down, exhausted, on the sofa....  and as you do so, you realise that you just used up your last spoon standing at the door chatting.

BALANCE  =  ZERO  –  NO SPOONS LEFT.

You’re home, you’re in a safe place ….  but … you’re hungry.  It’s been a long day.  You’re looking forward to dinner.  But . . .  hang on . . .  how are you going to find the necessary effort to cook dinner, then clear away afterwards, do the washing up and tidy the kitchen up again?  You have no spoons left.

This is a problem.  You can’t have what you can’t pay for.  Spoons have been your currency all day, and you’ve had to spend those spoons carefully.  But …  you now don’t have any left to get you through the last few hours of your day, feed yourself or even take yourself to bed.

So … what if you were able to borrow a couple of spoons?   2 spoons from tomorrows 12.  It will mean that you’ll only get 10 spoons tomorrow – but at least you’ll have an extra two spoons today, which will let you cook the dinner, eat it and then clean up afterwards.

Do you take the spoons?  Knowing that tomorrow you won’t then have enough spoons to last the whole day … or do you decide that you won’t eat dinner?

Lets say you take the offer … you cook dinner, eat and clean up. There. All done and dusted.

However,  later . . .  you want to go to bed – so you’ll need to get undressed, take a shower, brush the teeth, and finally … clamber into bed.

Aahhhh   .. hang on.  You don’t have any spoons left again.  You need an extra couple of spoons for all that, and you’re so very tired.  So weary.  You’re in pain.  Your legs hurt.  Your back is killing you.  Your neck is aching.  You’re having some muscle spasms which are hurting you.  Your arms feel so heavy that you can’t seem to pick them up.  You can’t think straight, your head seems to be all fuzzy.   Your hands keep jerking.  You can feel the nerves all over your body buzzing – as if someone has plugged you into some sort of electrical supply.  You NEED to lie down.  You cannot stand up any longer.

You’re unable to think or even talk properly.  You’re beginning to stutter and you can’t think why on earth your body is letting you down so badly.  Perhaps someone should call an ambulance because this really isn’t right.  You NEED TO LIE DOWN.  But you have no spoons which would enable to get you to your bed.

Readers . . .  what you’ve just read is my version or explanation of something called ‘The Spoon Theory’, originally written by a lady called Christine Miserandino who has Lupus, and who made up the spoon theory in order to explain to her friends how her condition affects her day.

I’ve just walked you/talked you through a typical day for you, or someone you know, and it was my way giving you an idea about what is experienced as a daily life of someone who suffers with a chronic illness and chronic pain.

A healthy person can begin a day with an unlimited amount of spoons (or energy), while a ‘spoonie’ (the term used to describe those who fall under the spoon theory) might have perhaps only 8 spoons at the start of their day, or sometimes even less.

There is no control over the amount of spoons because with chronic illnesses, the person suffering has no control over this important factor..  With a chronic pain syndrome, a ‘spoonie’ could wake up one day feeling great and have 12 spoons, but they could wake up the next day feeling just dreadful and with five or six spoons – it’s always out of the control of the ‘spoonie’ concerned.  Even the simplest of tasks can quickly cause them to run out of spoons.

I know all this because like some other readers here, I myself am a Spoonie, and I have to ration my energy.  I’ve had to seriously ration it over the past X number of months, as things have become more and more of a struggle.

I read about the Spoon Theory (by Christine Miserandino) quite some time ago and it struck me as such a wonderful way of explaining things to someone who had no idea of how a chronic illness and severe pain can seriously affect a sufferers life.  Everyone I’ve talked to about the spoon story and talked them through a typical (for them) day, using an imaginary set of 12 spoons, have had a moment where I actually saw a light bulb go off inside their head as they ‘got it’.  Even Mr.Cobs!

I even have my own set of 12 personalised spoons . . . 

. . .  and these spoons hang in my home, here in Cobweb Cottage.

Each of those spoons started life as an ordinary tea-spoon, but none of them are ordinary any more.  I took photographs of them a couple of weeks ago and have been wanting to share them with you.  But … this blog post has gone on long enough so I won’t bore you to tears with them right now.

However – I will share each teaspoon with you in my next post, so that if you want to make yourself some decorative spoons which mean something special to you, or maybe make one or more decorative spoons for someone else, then you might find a spark of inspiration from gazing at my spoons and it could set you off on a course of creativity which you hadn’t thought of before.

Next blog post in a few days time,  …. I promise.  🙂

The reason for sharing the Spoon Story with you today is because I spoke about it,  a couple or so weeks ago,  in a reply to a comment which someone posted on the blog here.  Another blogger read that comment and then we chatted about it, and I promised that I would post a blog post all about the Spoon Story (my version) – and said I’d post it in two weeks time.  Well…. it’s now three weeks (or a bit more), but real life and a poorly doggy have got in the way, but, as the saying goes,  ‘better late than never’, eh?

Thank you so much for coming and for taking time out of your day to spend a coffee moment with me.  Your company is very much appreciated. . .  but then … you know that already.  😉  

May you have a blessed rest of your day, and a truly lovely week.

Sending you much love and a whole bundle of squidges ~

Freshly picked Goblin Snot … and other fine produce from the Land of the Fae!

GOBLIN SNOT!  Freshly picked!

Oh yes.  you read it right.  What you’re looking at really is Goblin Snot!

Now that I have your full attention,  😀  I would like to introduce you to a few items of produce and products that can be found in the Land of the Fae  (Fairies) – but only if you’re observant; careful; quick; ready with your collecting jar, …  and . . .  only if you truly, TRULY believe.

And,  of course,  you need to know what you’re looking for.  

a handful of ‘products’ available in and from the Land of the Fae (Fairies)

Amongst many other things, you can find:

• Kisses of Mushrooms. 
• Thumbelina Thimbles
• Freshly Picked Goblin Snot
• Wild Harvested Gnome Whiskers
• Organic Dragon Soot.

Let’s deal with the Freshly Picked Goblin Snot first, shall we?  . . .

Now fresh Goblin Snot is a rare find indeed.  One has to be as quick as flash, as sly as a fox and as clever as an owl.  You have to sit about, in long grass, being very, very quiet, for  quite a long time, waiting . . . waiting  . . .  w.a.i.t.i.n.g.  … until – – –  you hear that distinctive rustle of little chubby Goblin feet, accompanied by the  sound of …. “ah, ah AHhhhh…. CHOOOO!”  (followed by a lot of snorting, sniffing and grunting).

Now it’s exactly one second before the  “CHOOOO!” part of the sneeze that you have to be super fast and get your snot collecting jar in place and ready to catch the desired, much prized, JUICE!

If you’re really lucky your JUICE might even contain ‘things’ which you might not recognise, but they’ll be the sniffed up ‘stuff’ such as pollen, leaves, grass, and all sorts of oddities from the woodland carpet of Fairy Land.

Now you’re probably asking yourself why anyone would want to collect Goblin Snot, and the answer is as wild as you might expect.  You see … Goblin Snot is magical stuff.  A tiny amount, onto the tip of your finger, will open ANY door.  If you wanted to go and see inside Buckingham Palace, then Goblin Snot would open not only the big gates at the front, but it would also open all of the locked doors you need to get through in order to go and see the Queen herself.  Or perhaps you’d like to get into The Whitehouse, or how about going midnight shopping in Tiffany’s?

Well if midnight shopping in Tiffany’s or a bank vault is your pleasure, then you’ll also need ….  Organic Dragon Soot.

Organic, Wild Harvested, Dragon Soot!

Finding Organic Dragon Soot is indeed a moment of pure magic in itself.  It’s so easy to miss it.  I mean to say ….  would you notice extra-fine soot on the floor of a Woodland area?  Probably not.  So to come across it and manage to collect it up before it magically disappears is a real stroke of good luck!

Why would you need Organic Dragon Soot from Fairy Land?  Well . . . 

• One tiny pinch of Organic Dragon Soot sprinkled over your head, will turn you invisible for precisely one hour.  Not a minute less, not a minute more.  One Hour!  Think of all the things you could do in an hour, if you were invisible.  [GASP!]  Oh, you little rascal!  I can see your mind working from here!  FORT KNOX?  Good grief, you think BIG!  Well, if you bagged yourself some Fresh Goblin Snot to open the doors, whilst invisible from using the Dragon Soot, I guess that even Fort Knox wouldn’t be that much of a challenge!

Next on our shopping list is . . .  Wild Harvested Gnome Whiskers.

Now these are a tricky one to obtain, for you first have to find your Wild Gnome.  A Wild Gnomes whiskers are stiff and prickly.  They’re not the soft, white, fluffy, cloud-like whiskers you see on Garden Gnomes.  Wild Gnomes are protectors.  They protect the perimeters of their particular area in Fairy Land.  These particular Wild Harvested Gnome Whiskers were carefully and quietly collected from a Wild Gnome who was taking a warm afternoons snooze, lent against a tree in Freckled Mushroom Wood and snoring his head off.

With the help of some Dragon Soot to make me invisible, I crept up and with my manicure scissors, I snipped a few of his whiskers and popped them into a collecting jar.

Wild Gnome Whiskers are a great addition to your potions closet because:

• They offer protection – much like putting on a suit of armour.  All you have to do is crush and grind the whiskers using a Pestle and Mortar.  Once all powdered down, you then add one tiny pinch of powdered Acorn Cup, and one Fairy Spoon of mashed Mushroom Cap from the wood where you gathered your Gnome Whiskers.  Mix it till you have a paste, and then put a tiny dab onto the middle finger of your right hand.  You will, within minutes have an invisible suit of armour.  You could be a Super Hero …. but beware … you won’t be able to fly!  (After all …. you’re not a Fairy and you don’t have Fairy Wings!)

Next on this Fairy Shopping List are ….  Thumbelina Thimbles.

 

You’ve no doubt heard the story of Thumbelina and how she was very tiny.  Well in Fairy Land, Thimbles are highly prized.  They aren’t just used for protecting your fingers when sewing, but they are a symbol of affection.  They are the Fairy equivalent of a Kiss.

Peter Pan, when Wendy Darling said she would give him a kiss, held out his hand to receive this gift.  He thought ‘a kiss’ was the thimble which Wendy had in her hand.  Wendy gave him the thimble, and from that moment on, thimbles became ‘kisses’ in the Land of the Fae.

Why would you need Thumbelina Thimbles?  Well …. they don’t offer you anything other than  the magic of love and affection.  They bring warmth into your life and a warm smile to your face when you look at them.  Just holding a tube of them in your hand can give you a warm feeling deep inside.  Right in the middle of your body.

Thumbelina’s Thimbles are made especially for Fairies (and of course for Thumbelina herself) by the Head of the Sewing Department, in Fairy Land.

I’m very privileged to know his name.  Come closer …. I shall whisper it to you ….  The Head of the Sewing Department in Fairy Land is Fineous Wizzigig.  But shhh… don’t tell anyone because it’s a secret – shared only between you and I!

If you look carefully in a Fairy Wood where you live (if you can find one) you might just find some Thumbelina Thimbles.  They are left by the young, giggly little Fairies, for the human folks to find.  It’s their way of passing on a kiss, from one realm to another.

And finally . . .  you’ve seen in some of the photographs here, a ‘Kiss of Mushrooms‘.  Another gift from Fairy Land, for Humans to find.

A Kiss of Mushrooms is something that the Fairies hope you will keep, for the spotted mushrooms are a bringer of love and luck.

I found this one last week and have mounted this Kiss of Mushrooms on a wooden block, painted red, and there it will live for ever more.  A very lucky find, indeed!

❤  ❤  ❤

Thank you so much for coming and sharing these wonderments found in my little bag, after a mid afternoon trip to Freckled Mushroom Wood.  There was no need today for my Fairy Net, for I captured things that needed no net – but I always take it with me – just in case.  Who knows when I’m going to need it!

I hope your Monday began with a stretch and a yawn, and that from there it just got better and better.  If it didn’t…  leave any troubles at the door (outside the door) and allow nature to take care of your Monday troubles.  Tomorrow is another day.  A gift, for you to choose how you want to spend it.  Grumpy, cross, annoyed.  Or …. happy, smiling and with love in your heart.

Have a wonderful tomorrow my friends.

Please note:  The stories, tales and narrative, and tales of fantasy and fable were written by me and belong to me.  Therefore copyright begins here.  Cobwebs.  23/7/2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Alf Capone – one of my Craft Room companions.

About three years ago Mr. Cobs and I were talked into having a kitten by our (grown up and married)  daughter.  She knew someone who was desperately trying to find homes for kittens and we agreed that we’d have one.

We chose the most adorable little black and white bit of fun and mischief, got her home, and within about three hours we knew we’d made a mistake.  We shouldn’t have just had one kitten.  We should have had two.  She needed a little playmate.  We were fine, but we weren’t kittens.  She’d come from a big ‘brood’ of kittens and we felt so mean taking her away from them all.  It was decided.  We contacted the lady and asked if we could have another kitten.

So back we went the next day to pick up the tiniest little black boy kitten;  huge big blue eyes which melted my heart and the tiniest little white diamond on his chest.  Ohhh, he was SO adorable that there should be a law against being that cute.

We got him into the house and his little girl sister instantly jumped on him and battered him with play.  Mr Cobs and I both agreed that we reckoned the young lady was going to be the boss out of the two of them.

We weren’t ‘new’ pet owners.  We already had two dogs, and one very elderly cat (whose now 20 years old).  So looking after little rascals wasn’t in the least bit of a surprise.  We knew what we were letting ourselves in for.

But …. we didn’t quite reckon on Alf.  Or … Alf Capone;  to give him the full, respectful name he requires.

(I call him ‘Alfie Pops’  – but don’t let him know I told you because I fear that he will tell me I’m dead to him if anyone else knows about this affectionate monica I’ve bestowed upon his head).  :o)

Photograph taken by my lovely neighbour, who’s way better at capturing a photograph of this almost all black chap than I am.

 Now I’d like to think that Alf Capone Esquire is more James Bond  (cue Live and Let Die music in the background) – because he is so sleek.  So dashing.  So, SO handsome, and he truly looks like he’s wearing a tuxedo.  The white diamond on his chest simply looks like a pure white shirt, beneath his black tuxedo jacket.  However, I’ve never seen a Bond film where James attempts to assassinate his sister whenever he’s ready for dinner and none is being served at the exact time he requires it.  (more about this distinguishing character  ‘trait’ in a moment)

I’m not saying that any mafioso would assassinate his sister – however … we are dealing with the Cat Mafia here and so I think the rules are very different.

I absolutely love this fascinating creature to the moon and back (plus tax) and he tickles the heck out of me with some of the things he does, and has done, in the time since we’ve had him.

I’m rather ashamed to tell you this but …  well,  …  Mr. Alf is a kleptomaniac.  He’s stolen things  from other people’s houses;  cat toys, food – corn on the cob, a fried egg,  and even bread rolls which, by the look of the contents, came from someone’s barbecue.  He’s delivered looong lengths of silicon sealant at my feet which he’s obviously freshly pulled out from goodness knows where;  a sock;  a tiny rubber bouncy ball,  and … oh,  an assortment of other weird and odd stolen things.    Along with the usual cat ‘gifts’ of birds (both alive and those he’s personally ‘delivered’ to the Rainbow Bridge) and mice (those are more often than not alive and running at speed when he drops them, with me chasing after them, squealing: “eek, eeeeeek,  EEEEEK!” as I try to catch the darn things but stop him from catching them again – sigh).

But his most favourite thing to do is to accompany me to the craft room, where he sleeps either under one of my desks, on a big, soft red with white spots comfy cushion, which my (now passed on) eldest dog used to sleep on, or he will curl up on one of the chairs pushed under the table at the back of the craft room, and sleep there for as long as I’m crafting.

If I haven’t gone to my crafty hidey hole when he feels I should have, he will come into the living room where I’m sat and, standing on his two back paws, he’ll put his front paws on my knees and tap me gently, over and over, until I look at him, and I can clearly see the ‘nag nag nag’ in his eyes, asking me to “C’mon….  get a move on, I’m waiting!”  LOL.

However …. in the house, when he gets tired, …. aw, that’s when he becomes a baby again.  He loves the blankets we have for our dog (she likes to clamber under the blankets and put herself to bed).  Mr. Alf loves these blankets too,  so much so, that they’ve become his version of a childs ‘blanky’.  He HAS to have a few minutes with the blanky before he’ll go to bed.

You see …. he likes to suck on the fluffy side of them.  Yes – you read that correctly.

We’ve tried to stop him – to no avail.  We’re aware how bad it is and I won’t bother to tell you how worried I am that he might be taking bits of fluff into his system.  (I have checked these blankets and haven’t found any bare patches, or parts where it looks like bits are missing).

The photo above shows you how he drapes himself over the edge of the dogs wicker bed, and once he’s got the blanket in just the right place, he begins to pad, pad, pad it, – just like he would have done to his mummy’s tummy when he was a kitten and wanted to feed – and then he’ll begin to suck it.  Audibly.  Noisy little slurpy, sucking noises.  I kid ye not dear reader.  This is really embarrassing when we have visitors and he does it, because it’s quite loud. 

Once he’s had his blanky time, he then gets himself into position to sleep …. by making sure that he drapes himself half on the bed, and half off.  (see the above photograph).   Doesn’t matter which of the numerous beds we have dotted about our little cottage, – he has a choice of:-  two wicker beds with comfy cushions; a large, rigid plastic bed with a big squishy cushion inside; a firmly padded tartan with matching cushion cat bed, or two lovely, roses printed Cath Kidston pet beds – he makes sure that he drapes himself in such a way that at the very least one whole leg is draped outside the bed.  We have no idea why he has to sleep this way, but I’m figuring that it must be a Cat Mafia thing.  One foot always ready to pounce while the other three are sleeping. 

However  … when hungry, that’s when this adorable little monster becomes the naughty little devil and gets a telling off.  If we take just a nano second too long in dishing up his hearts desire, he will turn his annoyance at being made to wait, into a reason for his killer instinct to show up and he will attempt to kill his sister, so as to get us into action pronto.

He chases her around our cottage: – up the hallway at breakneck speed and back down again; over the high-backed chair in the living room (with claws out, which makes it sound like he’s ripping the fabric), over the sofa, both the back and the seat parts, into and around the conservatory, up the 5 feet tall cat scratching post/bed/climbing frame combination, and,  eventually , if the door’s left open,  he’ll harem scarem through the bedroom, at a gazillion miles an hour – which he KNOWS he’s not allowed to do – over the bed, onto the windowsill – disturbing the curtains and making the lovely little yacht I have on the sill there rock back and forth.  If by chance he manages to actually catch his sister, he’ll make her squeal by grabbing her by the scruff of her neck – which gets him a real old telling off, – which in turn makes him sulk on the sofa until he finally gets what he wants …. dinner, in his favourite dish.  (Please God don’t anyone give him the wrong dish!)

He can be a troublesome bug to our dog too.  He major time loves our dog (‘Maybees’ – say it sort of singy songy and you’ll see how it sounds.  lol) sooooo much, that he wants to love her and love her and love her.  He rubs his chubby little cheeks around her face, scent marking her and making her ‘his’.  He cleans her ears for her with his raspy tongue, which tickles her and makes her shake her head so violently that I think it’s going to fly off one day.  He clambers onto her bed and snuggles up to her – which drives her nuts and she pleads with me to get him off.  Ohhh he loves Maybees soooo much that it’s pitiful to watch.  Maybees does love him too.  But she just wishes that he’d leave her alone to snore when she’s asleep and not climb all over her, trying to wake her up.

But he’s adorable.  For all his funny things, annoying things, rascal ways … we all love him to pieces.  My Daughter and Son-in-Law have both said that they’d have him in a heartbeat.  He’s just brilliant.

And … when he finally finds a spot and settles down ….  he’s just the little boy he always was when we first brought him home.

He’s just my Alfie Pops.  Soft, with fur like you’ve never felt before.  Thick, deep and luxurious.  Sweet natured (really – most of the time).  A little baby who loves ice cream,  drinking chocolate (I dip my finger into it and he licks it off my finger) and scrambled egg.  His favourite treats are cheesy puffed cat crunchies,  which I keep in a little glass jar and shake them when it’s time to come home and stop playing outside in the woods.  He’s a beautiful, massively heavy, big (much much bigger than he looks in these photographs) gorgeous, sweet thing and I love him to pieces.  And no, dearest daughter, if you’re reading, I’m not going to give him to you … but I’ll share him with you when you visit.

Before signing off ….  I know this isn’t one of my usual crafty posts and I know I’ve been Missing In Action for a couple of weeks (or so), and my blogs been very quiet.  I had to have some surgery.  I found some lumps about four weeks or so ago and the surgeon said that rather than simply take a little biopsy and wait to see what turned up, he felt it would be more prudent to remove all the lumps and, hopefully, all the surrounding cells, and then get a biopsy done on all that tissue.  He doesn’t think there’s anything to be worried about but I won’t get any results quite yet.   I’m not worrying until there’s something to worry about, because that’s just a waste of days and the older I get, the faster the days seem to go, so I’m not about to waste even one day worrying when I’ve got so much crafting to do!

Normal service will be resumed ASAP, as I get back to my crafty stuff.  However …  I will continue to introduce you to the fur babies I have here, who accompany me to my craft room, so that you paint a picture of who’s under the desk with me as I craft.  :o)

Thank you so much for coming to have a read.  I love that you visit to share a few minutes with me.  Thank you. 

Have a wonderful, happy, blessed day!

… and Alf Capone, of course!

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I’ll Rope You A Star ~ a handmade, little stars, Wand.

Did you know … that a Wand isn’t in the least bit magical?  It can’t do a thing.  It has absolutely NO power. NOTHING.  Let me explain more . . .

All a wand actually is,  is a ‘tool’ on which to focus your attention.  Believe me, if wands themselves really could do ‘stuff’ all on their own, I certainly wouldn’t collect the pretty wands which I do! (or any other sort of wand for that matter!).

Let me take you back to your school days.    Imagine for a moment that you’re sat in the classroom, and you’re giggling and whispering with the girl next to you.  Suddenly the teacher’s voice BOOMS out, and shouts your name!  You look up and see him standing there, with a cross face,  hands on hips.  He looks right at you,  gives you a stern telling off and tells you that you’re disrupting his class.

Embarrassing eh?

Now let’s replay that scene again . . . 

The teacher’s voice  BOOMS  out, and shouts your name!  You look up and see your teacher standing there pointing his index right at you.  He’s looking very cross.  Looking directly at you but still pointing his finger at you, shaking it the merest amount, he raises his voice and tells you off, – all the time he’s doing this he continues to point that finger at you.

Can you see (and feel)  how much more ‘menacing’ the whole scene becomes simply because he’s pointing his finger at you?

That finger doesn’t have anything magical about it, and yet it seems to hold so much more ‘power’.

That’s exactly the same as a wand.  All a finger pointing at you is doing is focusing your attention.  (and the person who’s pointing at you’s attention).  A wand is exactly the same thing.   It just focus’ the attention.

Well now I’ve blathered on about how wands don’t have any power, you can perhaps now understand why they don’t ‘freak’ me out, and even why I love to make pretty, magical to the eye, wands!   And this  ‘Rope a Star’ wand is magical to the eye.

The inspiration for this wand came from my childhood.  My mother used to tell me a poem, song, or story (I sadly can’t remember which) when I was little, but I do remember that I loved it.  Sadly I cannot remember what the story, song, poem was – and my mother has passed on, so I can’t ask her about it – but I remember a line from it which went something like:  ‘I’ll throw a rope out and rope a star just for you’ …  and that line conjured up such wonderful images inside my little mind,  and it still does now.

So I decided that I would throw a rope out and rope a star –  but this time I’d make mine a rope which wrapped itself around a wand, and the stars would hang from the wand itself.

There are little silver stars which dangle from lot’s of places on the wand, and there’s a crescent moon with stars hanging from the heel of the wand (at the top end as you’re looking at it in the photo.  The ribbon and star cuff around the top of the wand is removable.

Over the years I’ve tried to find the poem, song or story which mentions this ‘roping in a star’ and I’ve never found it.  But if you happen to know it or know where to find it, I’d be thrilled if you could either let me know or pop a link into a comment so that I could go and find it.

Have a truly blessed rest of your day, all,  . . .  and a fabulously twinkly, star lit night.