"Down The Rabbit Hole" Altered Book Sculpture

What to do on a couple of Rainy Days stuck at home..... An Altered Book Project!!!  And here's the finished result "Down The Rabbit Hole".  I love anything Alice so it seemed only right that my subject matter on this dull and dreary day be something dreamy and other worldly like the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland.

As many of my readers will know, I volunteer at my local Oxfam once a week, and I hate to see lovely old books that are too damaged to re-sell go to waste, so quite often I bring them home and turn them into something else, upcycling them into something whimsical is so much fun and a lovely way to spend an otherwise dreary day.

I began this project by cutting out the "Rabbit Hole" a very satisfying job, I love the wonderful texture that the paper makes when you cut deep into the book.  Next came the trees, I wanted these to look feathery and very whimsical so I drew my tree shape and the re-used the template to create the other trees varying it a little from tree to tree.  I then secured the trees by cutting a small slice into the book and inserting the base of the tree into the hole and then securing with some scrunched up book pages to serve as the base of the tree stumps.

The book is quite heavy and I think I will purchase a nice shadow box to display it in and protect the finished piece. 

If anyone is attending the "Make It Yours Workshop" launch evening on 2nd May I will have this piece on display there.  For more info on this event please visit the Workshop Facebook Page.

A "Wonderland" Cushion

"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?" Alice, Alice in Wonderland

Just finished these Alice in Wonderland Cushions ready for the Vintage Pop-Up Fair in Hassocks tomorrow, created using pretty green Alice in Wonderland fabric, with an accent pocket at the front they hold a vintage style Alice fabric doll, limited edition to just two in this style.  Also making a debut at the Hassocks fair are whimsical net skirts made exclusively by Isabella Rose for Maygreen Fairies, so if you are in the area be sure to pop on by, there are over fifty vintage stalls with a Pop Up Vintage tea rooms also!!  Hope to see you there!!

Pop-Up Vintage Fair - Brighton

I am so excited to be a part of this new Fair that is happening just outside Brighton in the Historic Town of Hassocks on Saturday 21st April.  There will be over forty stall holders specialising in vintage homeware, Jewellery, Furniture and much more. You can also have a rest after all that shopping and enjoy refreshments at the Pop-Up Tea Room!  Just think, you'll be in vintage heaven, you can browse among vintage linens and fabrics, pretty painted furniture, clothes and accessories and of course the Maygreen Fairies whimsical vintage items.

I am hoping there will be lots of visitors as the Fair has been widely publisized and has even had a mention in the April Homes & Antiques Magazine.  So with that in mind I have been busy creating,  my new hand embroidered vintage style cushions, they were such a hit at the Kitsch and Stitch Fair, I thought it only right to get sewing and produce some more for this Fair along with all the other regular Maygreen Fairies merchandise.

So to find out more about the Pop-Up Vintage Fair please visit their Facebook Page here!    I do hope to see you there, please pop by and say hello if you get a chance, it's always so nice to meet and catch up with my blog followers and any new customers out there!

A Fine Fair

The Kitsch and Stitch Fair went very well last Saturday, there was a good turnout and lots of lovely stalls to browse around.  The Maygreen Fairies stall looked particularly whimsical in the pretty surroundings of the Cranbrook Vestry Hall.  Above is a shot of the stall just as I had finished dressing it, the beautiful Farrow & Ball type colour on the hall walls looked fab against my vintage screen, it really set it off.

I had purchased a new iron display stand for my gift tags and they looked very pretty grouped together on the stand.  It was nice to see them displayed hanging up and I didn't get left with a messy tag box at the end of the show like I have done in the past... this way of displaying them was so much more practical and effective.

 My cushions went down well, especially the new hand embroidered ones, they were very popular.

All in all the Fair was another success, the ladies that organise it do a fabulous job it is always such a pleasure being involved with this Fair.  For more info on the Kitsch and Stitch please visit their blog.

Spring Kitsch & Stitch is nearly here!

The Spring Kitsch & Stitch Fair is nearly upon us and Maygreen Fairies are all stocked up and ready to go.  Hopefully this gorgeous weather we are having will be with us this Saturday and will bring all you lovely shoppers out to say hello!

The Fair is being held at The Vestry Hall, Cranbrook, Kent.  Doors open this Saturday at 10am and admission is free, for more information on all the fabulous stall holders at this event please visit the Kitsch & Stitch site here

After visiting the Fair you can sit down with scrumptious cakes and refreshments by the Hospice in the Weald and then take a stroll along Cranbrook's quaint High Street.  A glorious Spring day not to be missed.

A Dream Come True...

I finally had the pleasure of attending the last nights performance of a Midsummer Nights Dream, the production that I had been involved in, making the fairy costumes and headresses over the last few months.  Unfortunately I was unable to take photographs during the performance, but I did get the opportunity to go backstage before the show and snap away.

The atmosphere was very exciting as the day before the School had been visited by the Countess of Wessex and she had officially opened their new Theatre and watched the show (see the final photo).

All the girls that took part were aged between twelve and seventeen and were super performers, the whole production was of a very professional standard with a wonderful stage set.

The fairy make-up was beautiful, very whimsical and sparkly, below are some backstage photos of the girls getting their stage make-up done.

Titania's costume was made by my super talented friend Sarah, it looked fabulous on stage, it sparkled and twinkled under the stage lighting and the little actress who wore it did not want to take it off at the end of the show.

Oberon's costume below was also made by Sarah and was absolutely fabulous, the young lady who played Oberon was just wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed her performance.. a super talent.

Being able to actually watch the performance and see the finished costumes on the girls as they performed was so special, all the hard work of the previous months had really paid off.....

And the cherry on the cake was seeing the Countess of Wessex (below) in front of the performers wearing my costumes.... Marvellous.

"Now until the break of day, Through this house each fairy stray"

Tiptoe Through the Daisies

Oh what to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon?  I know!!  Create a fairytale Spring picture and chase away the rainy day.  A big thank you to Clare of Poisoned Apple, my on-line friend, who supplied me with a 1920s black and white photograph of a group of ballerina's, from this original photo I extracted three of the ballerina's and recoloured them in Paintshop Pro and then built this picture up using digital elements from Zetti Re-Vamp Digital Kit at Deviant Scrap as well as some of my own images.  So why don't you join me, close your eyes and Tiptoe Through the Daisies!