New fairies

I have been working on a new range of fairies , with a view to making them even more special than usual ! They are 3-D with embroidered skirts, tulle underskirts , stiffened gauze wings and the usual sparkly bits scattered all over. 

I'm presenting them in painted and paper lined boxes that have the fairy's secret name written on a scroll of tissue paper that is secured under the ribbon threaded through the lid.

the idea is that they are intricate keepsakes that hopefully will be treasured and kept for a long time to come. 

I'm pricing them between £20 to £40 depending on the work involved - the bigger ones will go into some heart shaped boxes that I'm about to decorate - will put them on the next post.

Little green rosebud fairy.

Blue bow fairy with cotton reel for scale purposes !

Detail of purple can-can fairy.

Silver butterfly fairy with beaded net petticoat.

Pom-pom fairy. ( On her shoes. )

Rococo fairy .

Red tulle fairy.

I have been looking at Louis the 14th and Restoration fashions and would like to make some Elizabethan ones if I can face sewing the tiny ruffs ! More soon ...

On Closer Inspection

As I love snooping around other peoples studios I thought I'd post some close up shots , so feel free to browse around !

I know these jam pots are ubiquitous but I can't resist them and especially the little ones grabbed whilst out having afternoon tea.

Two ladies wrapped in cellophane; the japanese one is a bat and I picked it up whilst in Tokyo in the '80's - not sure how you would manage to play ping pong with her in all her finery.

The fairy is made by my friend Belen Gomez who also does lovely prints and cards ( I'll post a link up to her when she is up and running. )

The squirrel perfume bottle with the fez hat was a present from Brian when he was junk hunting in new york, the toadstall candle holder one of a set of 6 and the toffee tin has a picture of the Taj Mahal on it.

A set of woven ribbons that came in this dinky dispenser.

The sellotape man also came from NYC and my Wade bird is rather lonely now that I've broken his mate.

As promised, a better shot of the felt daschund  and below is his cocktail sausage holder

companion. ( You can't see them here but there are lots of holes along his back to take the cocktail sticks ! ) A present from Victor - king of the charity shop finds.

All In Place

Well this has been my first purchase for the new studio - a lovely spotty broom and a very important one it is if I am to keep it looking as spick and span as it is now ( dream on - the next batch of fairies will restore my workspace back into a fluffy, fraying chaos.) But for the moment I can walk in and admire all my  shelves newly arranged and still relatively uncrowded and feel in control of this particular patch of the world ... what a nice feeling; however you do have to crack eggs to make an omelette and I will have to mess up this serene scene eventually !

Some of my dolls squashed between books and an old chocolate box containing crayons.

And below at last a home for my 'Magic Baking Powder', on the back of the tin it reads,

'Poudre a Pate Magic', so it must have belonged to some French fairies originally !

Following on is the shell tea pot I made for Betty Bib's Fairy Year book - talking of spick and span earlier the fairy sisters Spick and Span usually sleep in that pot but I've lost them in the move ( sure they'll turn up , they usually do. ) 

I'm so happy to have this space at last, as where I machined before was tucked into a dark corner and all my bits and pieces were balanced around me on the floor ( often falling over and spilling into the sandy cracks of a brick floor - I've left Brian with a very sparkly studio ! ) Now I can reach out and grab what I need ... in theory that is as I still can't resist putting ribbons etc in decorative boxes and woven baskets and then not remembering what's in them.

More dolls and a felt sausage dog - will post a better picture of him next time as he really is a great example of '50's toy making.

Another wider shot and I've just realised I haven't shown my office chair that I've covered 

( in haste )  with an old embroidered tablecloth - also next time !

Just to prove that I haven't just been titivating - here are some mermaid brooches that  I have just sent down to the Sandpiper gallery in Cornwall - it's  beautifully placed looking over the harbour, well worth looking up either in the net or in person if you are down there. In case you are wondering they were made in the old studio but I will confess to doing a spot of painting in the new place, which was easy to clear up - enabling me to still feel all is pristine.

I know it's really fiddly but I just love placing these sequins in just the right spot ... 

Bye for now ... there's just a little more 'arranging' to do !