Once upon a dream

Fairy Laurel Swap At Once Upon a Dream

Once upon a dream

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At the fantastic,big girl, fairy tale retreat Jenn threw, I volunteered to host a swap.  Fairy crowns are a favorite thing of mine, so I chose those to host.

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It was quite a party, there were tons of swaps and lots of creative pretties being traded about while we dined on cupcakes.

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I'm hoping that I wasn't considered obnoxious when our turn to swap came, and I bellowed out the names of the swappers while holding up my glowing wand.

I often am considered obnoxious.  I get carried away sometimes.

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It was a bit loud in there and we were the last swap scheduled.  And there was so much cool stuff to see and talk about and compare, that I was maybe a bit too loud while trying to call out the names….

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It was such fun to see what everyone made.

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Swaps are a blast.  In the past, I didn't participate much in the ones at other events, but I always felt left out when I saw the glee people opened their gifties with.

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So, I've told myself now, that I will always join at least one swap for every event I attend.

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And now, I think I want to host a swap for each event I go to!  I really enjoy that part. I know I've always loved hosting online/by mail tag book and other swaps, and in person ones are just as much fun.

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After this event, I want to do a fairy swap of some kind. I've been thinking about it for a long time, and my sissy has been asking me to.

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If I can get my butt into gear in time, it might be a xmas one.  But, with all the projects, trips, and holiday foofing that I have to do, probably not…

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Oh well, its fun to plan and day dream about. I'll let you know when the plans coagulate into something firm!

Prairie fairyland classes and pretty scenery

celebrations, Chandeliers, Once upon a dream, parties, Travel

Once upon a dream

I wish I could teach more often.  Its a blast. Of course, I am a bit of a ham, and I talk too much, so its wonderful to have a trapped crowd listening to me…Actually, its just plain old FUN to do.  When I make something, my brain works in How-To Steps as I go.  Its natural for me to break down the process of creating something.  

I find myself telling people steps of something when they give me a compliment, which is silly, most people don't care, they are just saying something nice about it.  I can see their eyes glaze over when I go into too much detail, so its nice to have people who really do want to know how something is made.

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The class I taught for Jenn was a mini "workshopette" for opening night, so I only had an hour.  I needed to package it up so that it was easy to assemble.   It seemed to be just the right timing, the ladies had time to finish and come up to the supply table to embellish with glitters and mica flakes too.

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I had felt like it was so simple I didn't need written instructions, but then started to freak out and worry that maybe I was wrong. And yes I was. So, I'm glad I scribbled out some in the bar the night before. The front desk printed them out for me and I was glad to have them for the class.

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One of my favorite things about the class was seeing all the variations people made on the prize ribbon.  Individuality is important to me and I made sure no two kits were exactly alike, but the fairy ladies took them even a step further to make each unique.

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Amy mentioned that she would love to make hers into a magic wand and wished she had a stick. I suggested gluing two glue sticks together and wrapping them with paper.  It turned out really cute!

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If you'd like to make your own, I had some materials left over to make a limited amount of extra kits. They can be found for $11 each in the Boutique

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The projects at the event were all such fun!  This is Dee's and she provided cool images to use.

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Mine ended up a bit different.  I wanted to use one of my mushrooms that I made for the centerpieces. It still needs a little sumthin sumthin… maybe small prize ribbon rosettes on each side, in neutral colors?

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This is my chandy from Natasha's class.  There were a few changes on mine too, I had strands of rhinestones with me and wanted to use those instead of the beading she gave us in the kit. I also wrapped the wire in tulle and lace.

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Then, I added a few dangles.

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Well, durn, I don't have a photo of Andrea's lovely necklace kit.  She packed up the best stuff to make the bracelet/necklace.  Lots of semi precious beads, that really made it special. If you know Andrea, you know she has exquisite taste.  (Plus she is sensitive, sweet, kind hearted, and beautiful)

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My pal, Tiffany, taught about taking better photos, and I learned a LOT from her.  She fixed the settings on my camera and I didn't even know they were wrong.

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My roomie, Lori, had a fun class too. I didn't get to sit down and make it yet, because I was walking around and helping with it.   Her kits were packaged really special, and I do have mine to make later.

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On our welcome night classes, the acoustics were a bit off, so all the teachers pitched in and walked around to help, since we couldn't be heard as easily as we'd hoped. Their help made the classes a success. I was sure glad to see them all come to my aid!

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Suzanne was another roomie, and is always a delight to spend time with.  We also got to share a table on work day.

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Our buddie, Kana was at our table too. She was our 4th roommate.  I've never shared a room 4 ways for an event like this, but it does make it even more fun.  Twice the giggles late at night than you get with just one roomie.

  And three people to tell me to stop snoring.   They said I was a polite snore-er and would stop when told.  Suzanne taught everyone that if they snap their fingers I roll over and shut up.  Its a good trick. I felt like I should have gotten treats for it, though.

I've heard that if you pin a tennis ball to the back of your jammies, you won't roll onto your back, and I snore only on my back.  But I didn't have a tennis ball, we had raquet balls, and golf balls. One was too soft, one was too small, but I tried putting both into a sock and pinning it to the back of my sleep shirt.

The trouble was, the sock was too long and it swung around and whacked me in the face, and did no good at keeping me off my back. I was actually more comfortable on my back, with the sock-o-balls on my shoulder, and I would dream it was little Agnes Rosebud nestled up on my shoulder as I slept.

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The details at each place setting were as wonderful as everything else Jenn does.

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She didn't miss any opportunity to make even the smallest detail into something special. This is the seating chart!

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Our table was the "Water Sprites" which of course reminded me of my little Sugarwings who thinks she is a mermaid.

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Jenn had wonderful photo ops set up for us, this wall of frames was sooooo pretty.  And so is Valerie (wearing one of the crowns I made)

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This vintage angel was a great spot to pose too. Doesn't Natasha look like an angel herself too? Well, while she is nice as can be, she is also far from angelic, that girl is full of fire, is stunningly funny, and always ready with a great story.  But she sure pulls off the angel look!

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It was great to see old friends, make new ones, and play dress up while surrounded by such stunning scenery.  I'm honored that Jenn asked me to teach, it meant a great deal to me to be part of this one of a kind event.

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Thanks, Jenn for everything you did to make us all feel like pampered princesses right out of a fairy tale for this enchanted weekend

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Fairytale highlights

Once upon a dream

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Once Upon a Dream was just plain dreamy! What a perfect event.  I'll have more photos soon, so far, I've barely had time to glance at them. When I got back from my trip, Sugarwings and I started decorating for our big Halloween bash that we've been planning. Every time I talked to her on the phone while I was away, she told me her latest plan for our decor, and it made me so happy to know that she thinks like I do.  There are always some sort of decorating ideas flopping around in my head too.

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There are great photos of Jenn's event all over the blogworld and on facebook right now. And I have some more to edit and post too, but for now, I thought I'd show you a few of my highlights.

The view was spectacular and there were so many scenic spots for photos, this tractor was a fun one.  If you could balance on it, that is.  Honestly, the thing was not moving, I don't know why I am riding it like it is a rodeo bull.

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Doesn't look like I had much better luck with this tractor at the Biltmore Estates.  The guy behind me seemed to get a kick out of watching me try to not fall off while I pretended to be elegant. The elegance eluded me.

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It was such fun to get to help make Jenn's vision come true and do some of the set up. 

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And I was thrilled with how my booth went over! There was hardly anything left to take home.

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Hopefully, the fairies liked my class, I know I enjoyed teaching it.  The night before, I drew instructions in the bar over drinks, I'm glad I did. The acoustics in the room weren't the best for teaching, and written instructions helped.

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There were lots of new friends to meet.

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And beautiful views. This was my view from my spot at the table on our work day.

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There was shopping too. I bought this Magnolia Pearl lace top at vendor night (actually, I bartered frozen Charlotte dolls for it, or I'd have been too cheap to buy it)

This light up magic wand is a gift for Sugarwings, but I didn't think she'd mind me using it to facilitate hosting the crown swap.

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Did I mention that we got to be FAERIES ALL WEEKEND LONG??????????!!!!!!!!!!!

Even though I was wearing so many layers of skirts that I felt like Ralphie in a Christmas Story bundled up to go play in the snow, it was a blast to get to be a grown up fairy out in public, day after day.    I think I'll wear this for our Halloween gathering tomorrow night, I already miss being all fairied up.

After the party, I'll have some more pics of the fairytale event.  And some party pictures too, as well as the final kitchen photos, along with the 'before' pics of the room too. Oh, and I junked a lot on the trip, and have those snaps to show you.

Now, back to hanging witches and ghosts on the wall for the big to-do.  Have a great weekend!

A Fairy Queen laurel

Once upon a dream, swaps

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For Once Upon A Dream, I offered to host a swap.  I love doing swaps, but normally do collaborative ones. This is my first one on one swap to host and I hope it goes well. And that I do it right. 

My swap mate was very open to ideas and gave me lots of free reign on what to make for her.  I came up with this crown/laurel covered in neutral and white millinery.

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There was an open loop at the top that I thought would be great for dangling a crystal.  But I wanted it to be a special one, so I cut out a lovely fairy girl, and glued a tiny blossom to her hand, and added the words "fairy queen" and glued those to the backside of the crystal, and then hung it from the top of the loop.

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So that it looks as pretty from the back as it does from the front, I glued a soft, flowey, flower to the backside of the crystal. 

The basis of the whole wreath is raffia covered wire in a deep, natural brown.  I sprayed it with bronze glitter and wrapped it up  in long, trailing, pure white silk ribbons.

When I get back from my trip, I'll have photos of all the swap crowns. I am so excited to see what everyone makes! 

 EDIT- This post was written ahead of time, before I left on my trip. I'll have new posts all week while I am away, but might not get to answer all comments or emails, but I will be reading and enjoying them on my Ipad. Thanks for coming by! I hope to add some "Live" posts from the road too.

How to dye crepe paper

how to's, how-to projects, Once upon a dream, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops

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For the welcome night class I am teaching at Once Upon a Dream, I needed a pretty ruffle to top off my Prize Ribbon Sprite brooch.  Plain crepe paper was nice, but I thought it would be better with tinted edges.

 

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My first step was to dunk the top and bottom of a whole roll of crepe paper into a bowl of water.  I didn't immerse the entire roll, just about 1/4 on each side.

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While it was wet, I spritzed the damp edges with Glimmer Mist and let it bleed down into the paper. 

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On one side of the roll, I rubbed dark brown ink over the Glimmer Mist for a two toned effect. (Glimmer Mist has a nice sparkle to it!)

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I'm happy with the way it turned out.  I folded a section of the streamer lengthwise and glued it onto the back of the wallpaper medallion to make the ruffle.

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The kits each have a teensy weensy Frozen Charlotte doll, a mini flower for the bodice of her dress, and flower petals for her skirt. The wings are ephemera, and all hand cut. Each flower petal skirt was trimmed up just to fit the little Charlotte it would be glued to.

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Each prize ribbon has a banner with a fairy name on it too. No two kits are just the same. They took me ages to put together since I was matching the dyed ribbons and lace to the flower petals and wallpaper.  Plus trimming all the little petals to fit the dolls. Its a quick class, about an hour. I knew the guests wouldn't have a lot of time to fuss with the project, so I had to make it simple to piece together.

I'll be making up samples of the finished pieces for the class, and when I get home from my wonderful trip, I'll have them for sale in the Boutique. 

I hope all the care I put into the kits shows and that the students enjoy them!

 EDIT- This post was written ahead of time, before I left on my trip. I'll have new posts all week while I am away, but might not get to answer all comments or emails, but I will be reading and enjoying them on my Ipad. Thanks for coming by! I hope to add some "Live" posts from the road too.

Mushroom Fairy Rings

fairies, Once upon a dream, vintage paper/collage art

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Lately, I've been obsessed with making paper mache mushrooms.

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These are all for Jenn's fairy event in NC.  She sent  fairy themed ephemera for me to cover them in, and I created them with aluminum screen and duct tape covered in newspaper before adding her pretty papers.

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Over that, I rubbed ink pads in a mushroom color, brown, white, and moss colors.

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Next came glitters.

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I  had bronze, crystal, silver glitters as well as mica flakes. 

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Each of the caps is finished underneath too. Some with multiple layers of crepe paper, some with lace or ribbon. 

IMG_4630 No two came out the same.  Even if I tried, I probably couldn't have focused on making two dozen clones.  And of course, mushrooms all pop up from the ground with such unique forms, that I thought it was fitting that my fungi were all individuals too.

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I'm so excited to see my glittery fungi gracing Jenn's magnificent decor!

 EDIT- This post was written ahead of time, before I left on my trip. I'll have new posts all week while I am away, but might not get to answer all comments or emails, but I will be reading and enjoying them on my Ipad. Thanks for coming by! I hope to add some "Live" posts from the road too.

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