The Play House

The Dream Never Dies

This is the play house. The place we would

drag our sleeping bags and pillows to camp

out overnight. Well, usually till first light when

we were exhausted from giggling,

 cold, hungry but full of new found secrets and sisterhood.

 A heavy fog would hang in the air with the trees

kind of blurry, like a magical shroud.

We would pack up our damp blankets and

make our way back to the house

 before anyone was awake.

It was an escape for any season.

In the winter my older sister and I would take a camp

stove over melt snow and make tea for us.

It wasn't fancy. Enough sugar and a few home made 

cookies can compensate for this.

At one time it did have windows,

a table that stowed away and an old spring bed frame

{very uncomfortable sleeping}

As a child it seemed huge. The actual foot print is

only about 6' x 12' give or take a few due to angles.

It does have an attic. Usually home to a

huge hornets nest, so we didn't go up there much.

It has been here on my parents farm for over

50 years, they brought it from Norrdegg.

{at that time, a dusty gravel road trip of 60+ miles}

It had been built there by a craftsman for his

only daughter. Loving parents would have

wanted to make one for their girls.

 It would have been a thing of

much awe and children would have lined

up for a chance to play in her playhouse.

People didn't have much money back then.

It is put together with reclaimed lumber

and left overs of other projects.

This is a shot of the attic. The brilliant glow

is the old chimney hole.

I could probably write a small book about

my memories of this little keeper of young

girls secrets and a place to lock the boys out of.

Speaking of boys, they categorically shot the most of

the windows out with pellet guns,

and only recently admitted

to throwing a frying pan through the rest.

I will tell you that I have dreamed of fixing

the playhouse. And, I don't mean in a metaphorical

way. I mean, for years, I have gone to sleep

and woke with very vivid recollections of

redoing, redecorating, hosting tea party dreams.

I have not been a little girl for a very long time.

But, that little girl still lives and

dreams BIG inside my heart. 

Thanks to my Mother for letting me take it.

But, most of all

Thank You to my Hero my Lancelot   ,

'My Romeo' for helping me bring it home.

Not only that, but for listening to me dream

aloud for as long as I have known him.

For never saying I couldn't do it, for not refusing to help.

He has been my champion in this.

 He did gently warn me

"it might not make the journey to our house in one piece"

{some 20 miles as the fairy's fly}

But, we would do our best to get it here.

Last weekend we rented a large car dolly.....

It has been transported to our yard now

It was somewhat of a mess inside.

Full of leaves and junk, abandon nests

{bird and bug}

I let Gabe and Irelyn have a peek in the dusty

junk scattered attic.

Irelyn thought "I saw something move."

and did a quick exit.

Gabe was certain

"An old witch must have been living there"

I think he was right as when I was cleaning

it out I found a small very sparkly piece of

pyrite and 'everyone knows

that is what a witch uses to buy children.'

Good thing all the gold in the world could

not entice me to sell the children or

the grand children.

If you have hung into this post this long.

I think I will keep the antique yellow color for

the outside. However I am up for any ideas

or color suggestions for the trim?.

I will be updating the progress on

'the dream lives on' occasionally

I have been searching Pinterest and Google

for ideas on interiors.

 I am up for any and all suggestions.

 It was made mostly of cedar siding

and shakes for the roof {I will be replacing the roof}

Although it is probably fast approaching the 80 year

age mark, it still has the wonderful cedar scent inside too.

Progress So Far:

-successful move and level

- 2 days cleaning of interior

-pressure washed inside and out

-remove hundreds of nails and old paper lining from inside walls

-purchase of fresh cedar to replace some of the exterior trim

-purchase of roof felting in anticipation of shingle renovation

Suggestions and pondering points {please feel free to help me with this}

-real glass windows

-tiny string lights

-off white interior

-small broom

-accent colors?

-tromplei or a nice quote sign?

-keep my eye out for a small table and chair set

-keep dreaming big

Restyled Home  revealed her playhouse redo,

she left the eves open too.

I like this look

More on this redo Here

If you wish to dream with me, or help with suggestions,

I will keep track of all commenters and put your name

in for a fun RAK to be drawn when

I make the final reveal post.

You do understand, it took years to

get in this shape?. I am hoping to be ready for a

full reveal by this fall, or at least one all out

full dress tea party by September.

P.S. make sure you leave a contact so I can reach you.

Secret Garden Class

Thank You to all the ladies that

came out for my class today.

As I promised here are the photos

in a better size for you to see.

You will notice they are in the order we talked about

in class..... I hope to see you all again soon

If you have an questions, please email me at

faeiryrocks@telus.net
If you are looking for fantastic graphics,
Check out The Gecko Galz
{gypsy relations of mine source}
or Magic Moonlight

P.S. please leave a comment so I know you

have been here

THIS THAT AND THE OTHER THINGS..

THIS

THAT

THE OTHER THING

As part of my on going need to organize

or just find a home for all those other little bits

I thought I would make something fun

to hold the stuff you just don't know how

to categorize . The boxes are from a long
ago trip to B.C. where the fruit comes in these
little wooden boxes.

So, Thats That!!

 shop for the things I used to make these

and  all the newest product HERE

Travel with K & Company and Bo Bunny

Today is Showcase Monday

at Scrapbookers Paradise Ponderings.

I am highlighting K & Company Paper Pack

This mini Album was so much fun to

assemble, it is a sweet reminder of the

highlights from our vacation.

TRAVEL   JAMAICA

T - R

R - A- that's us trying to make a shadow

hearts...looks kinda like swans with people

attached to them LOL

A - V Feet and the shark tank at Dolphin Bay

The journal says:

"At the Falls, I met this Romeo...

he showed me his leaf loin cover....

We climbed the 900 feet together

I'm pretty sure we are in love.."

Pirates and Peeping Pam and Steve

"That is the nude beach sign behind us"

Did we or didn't we.....?

Hmmm what happens in Jamaica never happened

The back cover, I melded together 3 photos
for this landscape look

 K & Company sure know how to

put together a paper pack.

I picked up a Bo-Bunny Travel

naked album  wallpapered every page. I was able

to get two complete pages or more covered from

each sheet of this gorgeous double

sided paper pack.

All Products for this project can be found
at Scrapbookers Paradise Ponderings
pop in and see what everyone has been up to
join in our Friday Challenges for a chance
to win awesome prizes !!

Mothers Day

A Mother's love

for her child is like

nothing else in the world.

 It knows no law, no pity.

 It dares all things and crushes down

remorselessly all that stands in its path.”
― Agatha Christie

Happy Mothers Day to My

Dear Daughters who made me a Grandmother

when they became mothers

Awe look at you both, so pretty

in the clothes your mother made for you

You are good Mom's

 you make me proud every day

 Remember, there isn't a child

anywhere in the world that is loved more than

 I love 'YOU'

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL THE

MOTHERS WHO WERE

THE MOTHERS WHO ARE

AND THE MOTHERS TO BE

I hope the sun is shinning on you and yours today

Crafters Workshop -'Aspens'

A few years ago, we rounded everyone we could

up and took pictures in the Aspens!! Okay so they

are just poplar trees. Fact is they are still some of

my favorite photo shoots.

Recently I found this mask by accident at

Scrapbookers Paradise and ........

I am wild about this Aspen Mask
Here is a quick walk through of how I used it

I first placed  the stencil on a 12x12

sheet of White Bazzill Card stock

Clip at least 2 corners to hold your stencil in place

I chose a color pallet based on the colors

of my photo shoot, for this you will want water

soluble inks Distress Inks work wonderfully

Using my TH Ink Tool, I started with the lightest

color Distress ink and worked it loosely into the

stencil protected paper.

When I was happy with the shades,

 I used my mini mister and spritzed it lightly with water,

 then immediately wiped the excess moisture off.

Remember we are building a background.

Next take a non water soluble black pen and outline only

one side of your trees and underside or shadow side of branches.

Fill in some of the thinner horizontal lines on your

stencil with the pen as well.

I used a silver pencil crayon to outline the other side and

the tops of branches. I did this to show the illusion of light

hitting the top of the branches, it also adds dimension.

Next take a small sponge and fill in the

remaining horizontal lines with Soot Black

Remove the stencil and shadow the side

of your tree that you used the black pen on.

There you have it, you have created a forest

Suggested Products

Stencils and Masks Branches

Bazzill Paper Distress Inks

Distress Tool Mini Mister

Perfect Pearls Mist

Is today's feature item at
Scrapbookers Paradise Ponderings

This is what I did with two of the

beautiful high shine color mists

It is difficult to capture the shine of the mist once

it is dry. But trust me it glistens beautifully

This background paper took me literally under

10 minutes to make.

I started with a white sheet of watercolor paper

I scribbled with my water soluble tombow pens

along the lower edge. I used Gelatos Pens from

my  very talented Girlfriend Rita Barakat

same thing just a scribble to look like ocean waves

I then went to town spraying Blue Patina

I then took a paintbrush and smoothed the lines

to blend them. I quickly dried it with a heat gun

Then I sprayed it on again and sprinkled  white

embossing powder around the edges to simulate

the look of waves foaming. I used the mist as

the base for the powder to grab onto.

It floated slightly and that is how the spray

effect happened, when I hit it with the gun

a tiny amount moved around like water

I finished it off

with Heirloom Gold along the bottom

Overall I am very pleased with this look

I might add a touch of sand to the left center

so it appears like a receding shoreline

Can't wait to get my latest photos developed

so I can use it.

Check out what Hannah did with the

Perfect pearls

then

.

.

Visit the main site for a chance to win Perfect Pearls

Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist

 May 1st-15th 2012

 regular $6.50 on sale for $5.50

coupon code 'FIPPM'

Every 1st and 15th day of the month

Scrapbook's Paradise Ponderings

has a feature product that You Can Win

All you have to do is visit the designers

and comment on the main post

well, and leaving a bit of love for

our DT's is greatly appreciated too.

Honestly it couldn't be easier