High Summer

 Well it's high Summer here at Betty's cottage and we have been celebrating with frosted petal fairy cakes ( a fairy speciality ) these ones were made with a lemon polenta sponge and a vanilla cream frosting , the paper cases were wiped clean and put in the fairy dressing up box for a rainy day.

It's a favourite time of the year with the roses out ...

 and the meadows in full bloom ...

 and if you look very carefully you might just spot a fairy looking for a new wand ...
this one has just found a lavender one amongst all the cornflowers and poppies.

 With Nature at her most glorious it sets a fairy thinking of Fairy Gardens where everything is just that bit more magical ...

 Delia is sitting on a dew drop and watching a cricket tap dancing ...

 Pamela plays with her Hornet wand ...

And lets not forget all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to keep our gardens looking so magical ...
Happy fairy Spotting !

Pocket fairies

 Some new fairies have flown into the studio - I am calling them pocket fairies as some of them have pockets and at 15cms they are small enough to fit into a pocket. They have clay heads and cotton print dresses, their stocking are hand dyed silk and they have paper or velvet flowers in their hair. From left to right I have named them Edwina, Leonora, Wilma and Mary-Rose.

 Edwina and Leonora decided to explore the garden ... and were then joined by Angelica who has a different type of wing ( hand dyed cotton organdie. )

 Leonora came back in for a rest from the sun ( she has a very fair skin. )

 And cheeky little Edwina had a ride on the pincushion rabbit ( avoiding the pins on her derriere ! )
All of these girls are £18 including postage should anyone like to give them a home. I shall be putting a little something in each pocket before sending them out.

 Just to round off, I found this lovely vintage frame made of velvet ribbon and then found the perfect fairy to put in it ...she will be staying in Betty's cottage watching over all the fairy activity.

Easter Egg Hunt

 Out early this morning and I spotted a large pink fairy called Drusilla riding on the back of the iron chicken in the garden and she informed me that the fairies couldn't wait for their Easter egg hunt to begin, they wouldn't be around on Easter Sunday as they would be far too busy making magic and collecting all  the shiny foil egg wrappings from children's Easter egg hunts ( so do keep fairy spotting
it's a good time of the year to spot a new species of fairy. )

Clarice helped out by fluffing up the chicks and giving them an airing after being stored away for a year

Pandora whizzed around the garden planting eggs in the bushes...

and Drusilla soon found hers under the wallflowers.

 It was all over in the wink of a butterfly's eye and here they are sharing out their finds down by the cowslips.

 They all  found  little eggs  and saved them for their breakfasts...

 Back inside the cottage the tiny fairies had found their stash and were already tucking in ... Happy Easter !

Fairies in the Larder

 I was cleaning out the larder yesterday when some fairies flew in to help me sort  the out of date pickles and mop up a few crumbs ( one of their favourite jobs of course, especially if they are sweet crumbs ! )

 Fairies are especially drawn to pretty tins so do keep some in your cupboards if you want to attract them into your kitchen. Tilly here was most happy to pose on this Brown and Polsen tin of cornflower.
Ammaretti biscuits in the house will also heighten your chances of fairy activity although they do prefer the soft variety.

 Penelope and Angelica found a bag of mini marshmallows... next to Turkish Delight , this is probably their food of choice and they sometimes will use one as a pillow for a quick nap.

 The fairy with the sweetest tooth in Betty's cottage at the moment is Maud ... she is most territorial about this pink tin and won't allow any other fairy to settle on it.

 Theodora has tried a few times but she now hangs out by the chocolate button jar for a quieter life.

 I know it isn't Easter yet but for  the purposes of research into fairy eating habits I always have a box of chocolates in the house and here I found Maud after all the exertions of cleaning the cupboards  (there was the tiniest trace of strawberry fondant round her rosebud mouth ...)

 By the end of the end of the day all the fairies were back in their boxes and behaving themselves.

 This morning I woke to find Maud in the garden washing off the last sprinkles of sugar in the morning dew ... if anyone would like to give her or any of these fairies who will attract other little folk and are happy to help around the house a home , they are £15 in their boxes. Just be prepared to buy chocolate in to keep them happy if you do !

PS Tilly is the tiniest measuring in at 7cm , all the others are 8-9cms high.

New website and Early Blooms !

At last I have a new website , bettybib.com and although it is still a work in progress ( I have yet to sort out p&p on it and learn how to manage it , it promises to be simple enough for me to update it more easily. )

I have also been recording the latest fairy activity ( of which there has been rather a lot with all this wonderful Spring weather .)

The Manolia Stellata is out and must be enjoyed as it so fleeting ... Nothing like swinging on it's branches ...

This green clad fairy was spotted loitering by the white crocus ...

This one was found warming her wings on a hydrangea bloom in amongst the daffodils I spotted a rare pink fairy tip toeing about. Must write up my notes now - it's always hard to keep up with Mother Nature and the Fairyworld at this time of year and I'm caught slightly on the hop as everything is blooming so early ... Most fairies are still hybernating in March except for the hardy types like Willow and Chestnut who always seem to show their faces first, so all in all it promises to be a good season for fairy spotting !

New Gardens

 After a winter of rain and major technology problems ( I have lost two of my websites but hope to have a new one up by the end of this month ) we escaped to Thailand and I made sure that I picked and pressed some of the lovely flowers there for future fairy magic ! Above is some while bouganvillea which I think will make some great wings , and a frangipani flower. I don't know what the red flowers are but I love their shape and hope that they don't lose too much of their vibrancy in the pressing.

 Before going away I had a good old boil up on the Aga of various plants and flowers and decided to use some of the colours in some new garden embroideries ...

 I was very excited to get some really nice blues from Hyacinths which inspired this 'Mediterranean Blues' piece -( all following measurements are of the textile size , they are all in mounts which will bring them up bigger.)
29x13 cms  £90

 Detail; I have incorporated some wild carrot and twigs from last summer's gatherings and pressings. I also confess to having a stash of old ties which are perfect for tiny prints such as in the paving used here.

 Rosebay Fairies 19x13 cms ... lovely pinks made from avocados.  £65

 Daisy Chain, 20x13 cms £65

 Fly Away Home, 12x5 cms £30

 Twilight and Wild Border Fairy, both  15x11cms  £45 All embroideries are a mixture of hand and machine embroidery with some areas padded from behind and embellished with sequins and twinkly bits. Twilight has some dried rose petals in the foreground. I am enjoying this mix of the naturally dyed fabrics with the dried and pressed flowers  then mixing them with prints and lace.

There's some wild carrot  in this one too ... it's got such a tiny and delicate form and presses so beautifully. The mauve has come from adding vinegar to my blues.

 As I write this the sun is shining and Spring feels just a bit closer ... I predict a lot more fairy activity next month as it warms up !