Design Team Project
by Amy Mayfield

Create a pretty pixie poppet

I had so much fun making today’s project. Lisa offers an AMAZING array of doll bits in her Artfire store and I had been dying to do something with my Charlotte heads. Using the small heads, I created a pretty pixie poppet. What is really wonderful about these is you could easily create your own parade of poppets and add a loop of ribbon to the back to create ornaments. For colorful trees, the assortment above is fabulous. If you want metallics or a more monochromatic look, the Fleur de Lis Flapper heads are a pretty choice and would make marvelous snow fairies or queens and I may have just convinced myself I need them…The set of basic Charlotte heads would be easy to customize for any color scheme–these pieces take paint and glitter extremely well.

For this project, you’ll need:
Your choice of doll heads from Lisa Kettell Designs
Doll bodies printed on cardstock (Mine came from Altered Artifacts on etsy)
Butterfly or fairy wings printed on cardstock (you could also use silk ones)
Crown paper punch
Adhesive rhinestones
Stickles in Diamond
Various fabric trims and ribbon
Thin wood craft sticks
Fine glitter (I like Martha Stewart glitters)
Glue, scissors, hot glue gun, etc

Directions:
I started by cutting out the doll body and attaching her head. I did sand the back of her head down just a touch to make it a little flatter. She was attached to the body using a glue stick and then I positioned the wings, legs and arms.

Next, I created her crown by using a crown paper punch and covering it in Martha Stewart glitter in Sterling. Shake off the excess and set aside to dry. I used a piece of trim for her skirt and held it in place with hot glue and accented the waist with a fun, fluffy bit of pink fiber. After this was attached, I outlined her wings and shoes in Diamond Stickles and created her a necklace with tiny silver adhesive rhinestones. Her crown is simply attached to the back of her head with a dot of hot glue and then it got accented with pink adhesive rhinestones. Once she was all together, I used hot glue to apply a craft stick–just to make her a little more sturdy. If you wanted your pixie poppet to be an ornament, just loop a bit of ribbon under the craft stick as you glue it in place.

This is a project that could easily be done with little ones–just help them with the hot glue gun and such. These would make great gifts for them to give for Christmas to friends and family. Here’s the finished project:

Doesn’t she look like she’s been sprinkled with a pinch of pixie dust?

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I love love love this project, so magical and enchanting I could see an army of these, a pixie army that is!, Love, off to make some of my own, thanks so much Amy! :-)

xoxo

Lisa

Ollie The Wizard!
Meet Ollie The Wizard!

Ollie lives in Pemberly Woods, 2 Hours North of London. Ollie is a young wizard who attends Pemberly School of Wizards...................
This piece is made from a doll closet I transformed into a shadow box, vintage fabrics, DMC floss, fabric Tac, German glass glitter, and my newest doll part: the Ollie Style, in the costume doll collection of doll parts. This doll part and the 4 others will be available this week in my etsy and artfire stores.I have always loved creating little magical worlds, the inspiration for this piece came from a project in my book; "Altered Art Circus", Quarry Books, 2009, the cover of the book showcases little circus cart assemblages made the same way only using paper images instead of clay dolls or figures. The unfinished version of the Ollie Doll is available and can be painted to your specifications its is labeled under the Bailey Style doll parts in my etsy, artfire online stores and at my store front: Piddlestixs!Ollie is currently spreading magic inside Piddlestixs, but I will be listing him in either my Etsy or Artfire Store tonight!

Ollie will also be available soon as a cake topper and cupcake toppers, custom orders can be made as well!

Magic and Joy,
Lisa!

"Ten Days of Christmas, Post One"

Theme Today: "Cupcake Chic"
From now until Christmas I will be blogging about holiday Crafts/Projects, Handmade Wares, Christmas Trees, Events, Parties and Recipes. To find extra inspiration, search for new and archived projects, see guest designer works visit: http://spellbinderscuriosities.blogspot.com/

This new blog is dedicated to all projects, published/printed projects from me and Moonfaires World Guest Designers.
I'd like to start the ten days of Christmas with a theme I have labeled: "Cupcake Chic" which is a color palette I use to categorize creamy cupcake icing colors, pastels, new brights, wrapped in a 1940's to 1960's color scheme and style, set in a storybook sweet shoppe setting. There is room for fairytale style from the 1920s and 30's, and the Rainbow bright era of the early 80's which can be classified in this category as well. So can distressed whites, pinks and neutrals which when combined with a cupcake color, some peppermint stripes and cherry red, boom instant cupcake chic. Candyland stripes, sweet sprinkles, painted pastel metals, color aluminum, spun cotton, plastic foam, forget me knots, 1940-50's corsages, party wares from the 40s-60s, Kewpies, Celluloid Carnival, Fair and Send Away Dolls, Penny Dolls, Bisques, Cutesy Tasty Cake Dolls, Nancy Ann's, Campbell Kids, Revlon Dolls, Tin Toys, 50s Space Toys, vintage and frou frou prom gowns, feather trees, tulle trees, mercury glass, plastic charms, charm bracelets, rhinestones, honey comb paper and decorations, tinsel, tinsel/foil decorations, kitchy deers and stuffed animals, ice cream fountain sodas and shoppes, 5 and 10 stores, all these categorize inside "Cupcake Chic". I've been working back into this color palette and theme for quite some time, originally I was grungy in colors, moved to bolds, back to grunge, then to bolds, finally finding my home within this theme, my favorite color combos right now are aqua and pink, lemonade and violet, blueberry and violet, a pastel rainbow mix wth creams.


For Christmas this year I started in September, re-dying and painting my display trees a cupcake robins egg blue/aqua color, bringing them to Silver Bella, mixing them with all cupcake chic colors. For Tinsel Wonderland I mixed these same trees with tinsel colors, silvers and creams.At my house I opted for shine brite trees in the sitting room, one is tinsel silver, the other tinsel pink, keeping only vintage and vintage handmade ornaments on these two trees with aluminum foil rolled vintage garland and tree toppers.For ornaments I re-visted the bottle brush material for trees and wreaths which were transformed into ornaments and dolls, By simply bleaching and dying either vintage or new bottle brush trees you can really create some fabulous things which don't have to be reserved for just the holidays. For the project on bottle brush tree dying and the Storybook Toys visit the Art Glitter Blog here:

http://artglitterblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/glittered-toy-blocks-storybook-toy.html

or visit the Spellbinders Blog here:

http://spellbinderscuriosities.blogspot.com/2009/02/dresden-trim-ornament-project.html

Tommorrow I will have before and after photos of the bleaching process of the trees on the Spellbinders site.
I upgraded the tear drop boat ornaments by replacing vintage images with my handmade dolls, decorating with Dresden, bouillion and more. You can see some of them on the Victorian Scrapworks Site

http://www.victorianscrapworks.com/

You can purchase many of the supplies to make these ornaments there. Once you finish shopping visit
http://spellbinderscuriosities.blogspot.com/2009/02/dresden-trim-ornament-project.html

this is the place for the project instructions and video on how to make them.

Stay tuned for the 9th day of Christmas post tommorrow on the Pine Cone Carnival of Ornaments: Fairies, Sugar Plums, Little Bo Peep and Wizard Pine Cones and visit Spellbinders blog for the project instructions!

To purchase any of the finished pieces visit my etsy store at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/moonfaires

To see more of my holiday trees and pictures visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonfaires16/sets/72157622892468832/

Magic and Happy Holidays!
Lisa!

Meet the Storybook Toys, Friends of the Charlottes!
Pictured are: Violette, Bluebelle, Taffy, Pippie, Piccadilly and Percy!Each Doll is hand sculpted, (no molds), painted, felted, glittered and brought to life w/ a variety of techniques, each started with an illustration! These dolls are apart of my new illustrated doll line.
Now available on Etsy at http://www.moonfaires.etsy.com/
or click on the direct link to their listing at:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29165141
In my Etsy Store you will be able to pick which style doll you want and it will be handmade and assembled for you, all one of a kind.If there is a specific toy wood block base you'd like, I will do my best to accomondate you!For your doll you must pick between these styles: A. Violette B. Bluebelle C. Taffy D. Pippie E. Piccadilly F. Percy. Then your doll will be handcrafted and mailed off to you safe and sound. Each doll w/their toy block measures between 5 1/2 inches to 6 inches tall.The dolls are available and custom dolls as well!Magic and Joy!Lisa!

Their Story:
A whimsical symphony of music can be heard in the faint distance, as you walk closer it becomes more profound, sending delightful chills through you. Now just a short distance away the smell of chocolate, candy apples and cotton candy have filled the air, flickering lights in colors of the rainbow can be seen over head, the pitter patter of footsteps abound. Birds with pointy hats can be see flying overhead followed by racing dragonflies and Charlotte Flying Muses.

"Where is that red and white striped gate?", you have just asked yourself outload, then a little voice replies, "Straight ahead bare a quick left by the grand oak tree"
You turn to find a tiny chick who introduces himself as Piccadilly, an enchanting chick with a tinsel hat. After a grateful sentiment, you proceed ahead, bare a quick left at the grand oak tree and voila there it is, The red and white gate!

This is an enormous sized wooden gate with 2 pink column turret structures attached to it, followed by a line of giant bushes, to thick to pass through. The sign on the gate reads: "Ring Bell, To Enter", Once you ring the bell, the door slowly opens, revealing more and more glimmers of light and amusement.

Within minutes the gate opens to reveal the most magical, the most enchanting, the most amazing site to lay upon the eyes, a feast of pure imagination begins to surround you as you enter this most mystifying place. A Carnival, A Toyland, Storybook Land, A Fairyland, what else could you call it? Wizards of every kind, fairies, carnival-ites, real life dolls, charlottes and toys. "Could that be Pinoccio walking with a Princess?" "Is that a pool of mer-chicks frolicking around in the water?" As you walk by, you come across the most fabulous carousel ever seen with gilded golds, pinks, aquas, every color of a cupcake palette, with beautiful storybook characters gracing its floors, did I mention it is a three tier carousel!

Just around the corner from the carousel is The Magic Toy and Apothecary Shoppe, owned and operated by Percy Withermoore who also owns The Percy Withermoore Circus!
One glimpse through the large framed windows, one can see rustic shelves lined w/colorful bottles in odd shapes and sizes, ornate handmade toys and special goodies, a feast for the eyes.

In the garden of Mysterious Delights located on the outskirts of Storybook Land, is filled with secrets labrinyths, and tunnels, which lead to many other areas of Fairyland, including the Land of Charlottes, who are close friends with the Storybook Toys and Friends, One day if you come across a flickering light caused by a sweet chick, ask him or her the way to Storybook Land!

Tiara Chronicles! The June Installment!It started last year, a group of 10 of us have called ourselves the Tiara Chronicles, we get together every month or so to go either artful treasure hunting, exploring artful places or gather at each's studio's or houses and create a unique project.Each of us take turns teaching, and inventing cool projects which can sometimes take us out of our comfort zones, its a challenge to keep our creative minds working and testing our abilities. If we didn't challenge ourselves we'd never evolve as artist, because when you get to comfortable with one thing, you let the other things pass you buy.
I go through artful spurts/phases, never staying on one thing for long, I have so many idea's I have to get them out of my head and onto paper and bring to life. I create projects which are for every skill level, I'm not setting out to make a difficult masterpiece that's can't be made, or something so expensive to make it takes a year to collect the pieces to do it. To me that's not what every day art is about. I recycle and re-use everything and find a new life for it, yes I love all the amazing vintage wares, but they can get costly if you don't find a good deal, so I try to re-make myself and you can too.So for this installment of the Tiara Chronicles, it was my time to pick a project and I decided on ALTERED ART DOLL BOTTLES! using recycled: A1 Steak Bottles, Mustard Bottles, Heinz 57 Bottles, Oil/Vinegar Bottles, Dollar Store Bottles, Apothecary Bottles, or whatever glass bottle you have lying around. Then we altered it and transform it using artful supplies, I brought clay and molds to make the doll heads.We all bring supplies and artful wares for everyone to share, Everyone brought broken jewelry bits, rhinestone's, pearls, ribbons, flowers, and unique oddities to play with.I gathered some artful goodies from Michelle, Suze, Patti and Linda to use in my 2nd doll bottle which is almost done, a broken flower pin and charm from Michelle are the crown on my 2nd wine glass doll, 2 crystal beads from Suze are the earrings, black pompom trim from Patti is the doll trimming, and a button from Linda is part of my doll's dress, stay tuned for this finished piece tentively called: "Bella's Soiree Doll!"This photo above is the beginning on my finished wine glass doll called: Polly The Pixie Wizard Doll! (stay tuned to the next post to see her fully finished).Besides bringing artful wares, we also much on delicious goodies and enjoy drinks, coffee, or tea.Today we were at Linda Hahola's house, she always puts out an amazing spread of hummus, breads, chips, dips and sweet goodies. On Saturday we were missing a few of the Tiara girls, who were sending joy our way. In attendance was: Linda, Suze, Patti, Bonnie, My Mom-Joan and Me, not to mention a few furry friends who are just beyond words adorable, I wanted to take them home.Here is a glimpse at the many dolls we made, the photo before this one is the full group doll photo aka The Dollie Bottle Fashion Shoot!This is my Mom's doll, she choose a more regency meets victorian style,whose doll lips I might add, were a bit split, I think it gave her more character, LOL, but once the clay and paint dried, she came back to life and her lips were normal again. My Mom painted the body w/Claudine's Paints (She is a new fan, wants all her paints now, available from Ranger Ink, gilded trims, jewels, findings and peacock feathers. Mom's dollie was further embellished at home now she is completely finished.Here is Patti's Doll, isn't she magical? Like a Fairy Goddess, Patti choose to paint the head with the
14kt Gold Paint, used a floral/berries for the head piece, wings, ephemera and jewels.Here is Linda's Beautiful piece, another fairy goddess, Linda choose to paint her doll's head brown, with jewelry bits, gold paint for the glass body mixed with flowers and other floral/earthy accents, so magical! I just love the leafy wings.This is Suze's Doll, another fairy goddess, but more of a fairy queen, complete with gold crown, gold wings, gold wire, gilded gold body with gold glitter inside, Fashionista Red Hair, and Dazzling jeweled treasures, the most regal fairy in the land.Michelle's Bottle Doll, can this get any prettier, look at that jeweled treasure crown, I wish there was one big enough to fit my head. Michelle choose a more prim, fancy, chic style doll, with hand distressing to bottle for an aged patina look, jewels, pearls and more pearls.This is the base of Michelle's Doll, I love the gilded tassel trim with the pearls.

I just loved how everyone's dolls came out, each of them are more beautiful then the next, I could stare at them for hours. I hope you enjoyed this installment of the Tiara Chronicles and the project we did. Stay tuned for our next adventure!
http://michellereneebernard.blogspot.com/
http://www.pattibehan.blogspot.com/
http://suzeweinberg.typepad.com/suzeblogz/
http://auroratique.blogspot.com/
http://www.rangerink.com/


Magic and Joy!
Lisa!