Renaissance Woman » Faerie Sightings

Roundelai

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:50:53 +0000

The delicate wire structures under the bounty of silk flowers (below) are examples of the unusual french term, fils de fir or fil de fer. I’ve only ever seen (live & on-line) such items in Anthropologie and Ballard Designs. So when a shoppe near-by called Tutto Bella displayed about a dozen of these little (?!faerie rings?) I gathered them up and started adorning them with beautiful little garden-forest things, all the while trying to decide what they’d be called. The term ’roundelai’ just seemed to capture their whimsey!

Silk Flower Fairy Garlands

admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:00:57 +0000

Fairies need as many crowning glory garlands of flowers– as their human counterparts need –pairs of shoes. If you are so inclined, you can very easily make a few of these garlands for your own little winged one. Assembling the materials will be as much fun as creating each one.

Early Decisions:

1. How wide will the circlet be to fit on the head of the lucky benefactor? (typical widths are 6″ to 8″)

2. What color theme will she like?

Materials:

Long stem silk flowers

Silk, small ivy leaves vine

Other decorative embellishments (bridal crafts have lovely, glistening stems of “jewels”)

Ribbon (thin) or thin feather boa

Directions: Inter-twine the silk flower stems with the ivy vine to create the circlet’s diameter to be the size you need. If you don’t like the spacing or nearness of the blooms and the ivy leaves, add additional stems or another vine of ivy. Now, add in the other embellishments to enhance the faerie’s garland crown.

Good placements include in the center back; or, to the left (above the ear). Do not overly dilute with extra’s– you would detract from the floral theme.

Here are a few others–

BEST Faerie Conference–Oct 10-12, 2008 in Philadelphia

admin — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:10:18 +0000

It has been 25 years since Brian Froud first published Fairy, the adorable crouching little one on a white cover–many say he is the reason this subject has found its way into daily lives, book stores, craft tables and bed stands. Not only has Brian & actually, his wife Wendy too, created innumerable spin-offs (Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairies, The Bad Fairies, Goblins, Dark Crystal, etc) but they have inspired legions of illustrators, polymer clay sculptors, publishers — very likely the gorgeous magazine also succinctly called Faerie, to amuse and entertain us! For more see Wikipedia and Amazon.

So what’s all of this got to do with the three day conference in Philadelphia? 2007 was the first time this hugely attended event was held on the east coast, in addition to the west coast event, which has been held for many years. The Froud’s and other well known artists and musicians, plus hundreds of exhibitors, will return to host what promises to be an annual gala. In fact, many attendees come in full regalia to immerse themselves into the experience, not only for the grand ball, but for walking around, conversing, entertaining and overall enjoying the spirit of the occasion!

Of course this is not the only event of its kind. Search on “fairy conferences” and find many such get-togethers, held globally, of varying sizes. Faerie magazine also publishes notices for prospective attendees on any conference information sent to them.

If you are planning to attend this year write a Comment here and let’s get together!

Watch for photo’s I’ll take and add…

Faeries’ Little Picnic Basket

admin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:02:56 +0000

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

Feathers & Leaves Make a Wispy, Windswept Wardrobe

admin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:52:55 +0000

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 ?!?

Vintage Bird Cages Make Castles in the Air

admin — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:50:35 +0000

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.

Faerie Home Building ~ Gift Basket

admin — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:05:16 +0000

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!)

Welcome Kindred Spirit

admin — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:55:54 +0000

Most of us have never given much thought to faeries. We just automatically think faeries do not exist and the myth is child’s play. I personally have suspended such a weighty decision and focus on a much more rewarding aspect of the issue: I have been devoting effort to designing “gifts” that a faerie would leave to provoke a burst of delight, a flash of silliness or a surprising glimpse of merriment! Don’t we all need more of these vitamins?

Check out these ideas and let your imagination roll with: who deserves this treat?!