The British take their fairy cakes very seriously. The little delicacies are sold ready made, in packages ready to frost, or as ingredients to select and make yourself. There are recipes galore if you search on the term. But one perfect solution is to make little silk, felt or calico treats. Gather scraps, beads, buttons, small bits of stuffing, trim, rhinestones– whatever you can find. Not only can you make them once and enjoy dozens of times– but they have no calories to boot.

Here are a few of the pretend confections — try some!

Rumor has it that meadow loving faeries cannot resist a picnic. So if you want to have a good long chat with them, do it up right.  Pull together a dainty tea set, pretty linens and sparkly, come-hither beads to lure the most hesitant winged creatures.

Personally, I believe the grape vine tendrils are the bees knees and they add even more allure for enticing the desired guests.

Do not overlook the attraction of little tinkling bells.   Others who have successfully lured and chatted with the ethereal winged ones,  believe that a final must-have is a small bottle of bubbles –like they use at weddings– to silently and cheerily invite guests for the merriment!

Want to put such a basket together?  Have fun gathering:

–small tea service set

–little basket

–tablecloth or placemat

–bag of shiny beads

–grapevine tendrils

How delightful would it be to discover a tiny clothes line of feathery, leafy faeries’ frocks? These little clothes lines have been found strung across trees, under window sills, in the bushes, among shoes in the bottom of a closet– even across dusty tomes on a book shelf. But if you don’t want to wait on luck to stumble upon one– you can whip on the up yourself.

Gather feathers, yarn, beads, silk flowers, bits of ribbon, etc. Fall colored silk leaves are especially attractive. Lay out lots of different combinations until you are sure your design qualifies as this Faerie Couture — then glue small drops to hold the frock in place.

Assemble each of the little frocks on top of a cookie cooling rack so air can circulate around and dry them.

Look for tiny clothes pins (about 1 ” long) sold with wooden beads and blocks in craft stores–Use them to hold up the dresses, on a clothes line tied end to end on a branch.

Then the real fun begins: Where can you set up this little surprise ?!?

Coming upon a huge and majestic olde tree can be a breath-taking surprise.  How old is it? How many people has it sheltered through the ages?  Have children played in its boughs? under its shade?  And if your imagination is in high gear you may wonder if there are doors too small for the naked eye that welcome little enchanted folk.

Would you consider creating one yourself?  If you have worked with papier mache and have an eye for armature  design, it should only take patience to bring one into your living space.  Here are some steps I have used in making these olde spirits.

1. Find long stem, silk flower branches with greenery that appeals to you.  You will need approximately 12-18 to suffice as the bushy top.

2.  Find fabric that co-ordinates well with the silk flower fronds and drapes well.  If you want to make a tree that stands three+ feet tall, and about twenty-four+ inches wide at the base, you’ll want a good yard and a half of 45″  or 60″ fabric.

3. A package of plain, cotton upholstery piping will let you create vertical trunk rippling effects.

4. Gather sturdy cardboard shapes to assemble with masking tape, forming the rough armature shape,  about 24-30″ tall.  Leave the top open about 6 circular inches.   Attach the structure firmly to a sturdy wooden tray base.  Does it need branches?

5.  To round out the materials and tools list, find quick drying papier mache, wire cutters, glue that dries clear and decorative, dried moss  and any other whimsical additions such as an owl, birds, nest, etc.

6. Mix the papier mache according to directions and apply sparingly until you get a feel for how you want the tree to look.  Glue length-wise strips of piping in place on the trunk.   Let the structure dry thoroughly for 24-48 hours.

7.  Drape the fabric various ways, to determine the best and natural effects, before you cut it. Leave a lot of extra fabric at the top to use later.  Dilute the glue with water and apply sparingly in non-obvious places in case it seeps through the fabric.  Pinch long ripples of the fabric to simulate bark.

8.  Arrange the silk stems in different ways, bending each to create the most pleasing, overall effect.  You may not need to cut off many (or any) of the stems.

9.  Add any finishing touches (birds, moss…) to complete your olde spirit.

Tea parties are the most accommodating event– you can hold one for any and every reason you can think of! –”Let’s celebrate sunshine today” — “Four months from today is my birthday” — “There’s still sugar in the sugar bowl– let’s have a tea party” (You get the idea)

Little ones can learn this age old hostess art by starting young, with both dolls + bears OR with friends. Why not assemble a Tea Party Gift Basket?

Let their age determine whether you look for plastic or china/pottery tea service sets.   The tea set will determine how big of a basket you’ll need.   Then the fun begins: what special fabric be just right to serve as the tablecloth?  Cloth dinner napkins might do the trick.  Or, if you care to whip stitch the edges, treat yourself to scanning through quilting fabric.

Will you want to include small cookie cutters?   Paper Clay to make cookies?  Sprinkle shakers?  A little apron?  etc.   Adding in real petite fours would be a great treat.

Will you want to include some non-caffeinated teas?  How about rose bud topped sugar cubes to dress up  the many tea parties to come?

You might enjoy the magazine called Tea Time for its stories, recipes and numerous ideas for tea parties.  Visit their site at www.teatimemagazine.com.   And consider the many storybooks devoted to this very ritual– one would be a nice inclusion too.   Finally, the hostess who receives a tea party gift basket will appreciate party invitations that set the tone as each little guest opens hers up.

How many little ones come to mind, whom you will want to make this gift for?!

Don’t children love their own secret hiding places–behind a sofa, under a table, a blanket making a tent… Make a special hide-away place for little ones you love.   Gather together a few things:

• a net canopy (sold with bedroom sheets in department stores)
• a green fluffy  blanket
• lots of silk flowers in pretty colors
• strong glue that dries colorless
• florist wire

Turn the blanket into a little patch of meadow by first pulling the silk flowers and their leaves off the stems.   Arrange them in a sprinkled pattern around the edge of the blanket– try different combinations until you find one you like.  Then glue each down very securely and let dry over-night.

A garland of silk flowers, often coming in six foot or longer lengths, can be attached to the top of the canopy with florist wire or strong thread.

The secret hide-away set can be used outdoors or inside.   And if you can include pillows– how could young ones resist?   Reading, coloring, writing, drawing, singing, playing cards– how many things could they do inside this special place?!

The thrill of finding a shapely, antique wooden bird cage is multiplied when you imagine how to transform it into a faerie’s luxury castle! The darker it is, the more important it is to prepare it with a spray paint primer & when dry, then you can spray with a pastel colour of your choice.

Next gather trims, ribbon, ivy, silk flowers– and make sure they are small enough to fit the scale of the creation. While hunting & gathering, hopefully you will also come upon the luxury home furnishing and decorations for this renovation. Even flooring will take some thought– the faeries in my region love mossy carpets; others, I’ve heard really prefer a floor of scintillating glitter.

And, decide if birds and butterflies will be there to greet the new residents. I love to attach a tiny, tinkling bell to the door for them to know when guests are coming in. And of course, a basket of berries says Welcome Home like nothing else can!

Be sure to have enough double satin ribbon to hang the new home in a safe place where you and your new residents an co-exist and enjoy each others’ company.

Presenting a beautiful crown or tiara to the person of honor (young or young at heart) is a wonderful way to let them feel royally loved. I am making several different kinds and will post more pictures soon. Often these lovelies are made from an array of materials ranging from silks, velvet, satin, pearls, crystals, gorgeous paper, vintage trims; some are glittered, some are not; some made with delicate flowers; some with words such as Princess, Prince, Birthday, Bride; 1 Year Old, etc.

Many more coming soon!

How better to surprise a young one this summer than assembling a gift basket for them with materials to build their neighborhood faeries a splendid home.  What would such a gift basket contain?

Suggested materials:

Moss (dried packages in floral crafts aisles) or live! moss

Vines of ivy (found with silk flowers — or live too!)

Twigs, grape vine decorations, birds nests

Florist tape, florist thin green wire

Pebbles, stones

Raffia, twine, yarn

Other?!

Resources:

See the VHS  or DVD of “Faerie Tale:  A True Story: for an utterly delightful story & great Faeire Mansion

See the numerous books on fairy houses

Search sites for the ‘festivals’ held in various areas where children come in and create fairy homes

(Soon I will have other links for you on these topics!)

Have you discovered this late genius, a dutch artist who takes us to another world where rustic quaint meets Hansel & Gretel ?  Search on his work and relish the feast he captured of dutch scenes that were literal canvas snapshots through his eyes, circa early 19th century.  He is renowned for his oils, water colors, etchings and engravings created during his 92 years, ending only in 1987! 

By far, his style is immotalized in the theme park outside of Amsterdam called d’Efteling, still frequented today.  (Walt Disney was one of his admirers) 

Exhibitions of Anton Pieck’s work are  still assembled today and originals can still be purchased at various auctions.  I found several of the hard bound volumes of his work on eBay and love leafing through them.  Several years ago his prints were used by crafters to create framed 3D pictures.  Noel & Pat Thomas credit him as their muse for their lovely miniature olde toy shoppe called East of the Moon.

My fascination with this gifted & imaginative genius is in creating doll houses of his style and a small village that can withstand the elements in a yard!  Once photos are available, I will post them!