Art and craft inspired by starry nights and fairy tales. Oh, I'm great at making messes too.
Art and craft inspired by starry nights and fairy tales. Oh, I'm great at making messes too.
Imogen Russell Williams: From the Borrowers to those shoemaking elves, littler-than-life people – and rodents – have always captivated literature lovers
Would just like to wish all the amazing people I have met on flickr a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND CREATIVE NEW YEAR!!! made this a long time ago, inspired by the wonderful MARY NORTON BOOKS ABOUT THE BORROWERS.
When you turn 11, you’ll get your Hogwarts acceptance letter. NOT.
Homily in her kitchen, by Diana Stanley, 1952, for 'The Borrowers' by Mary Norton Looking at dolls' house furniture in Hobbycraft recently reminded me of Mary Norton's The Borrowers, the story of tiny people who live unseen in human dwellings,...
illustration by beth & joe krush from the borrowers.
What does a fairy lovin' mess maker create for craftster.org's challenge no. 83, a shoebox makeover? THIS! Yeah, not so exciting... BUT WAIT! Some things are not as simple as they appear... THIS box is a Borrower's Box! The box as it was made completely with stash, junk, and found or free objects. (P.S. THANK YOU to all of my fabulous crafty patrons who send me stuff xoxo) A bed made from an old sardine tin with a mossy pillow. The nightstand is a checker piece with bead feet. The ladder is made from two old paintbrushes and matchsticks. Notice the 'nerf' dart to the left? Yeah, there's about a zillion of them hiding all over my house. A spool chair and a table made from a button and matchsticks. (No wonder my bird feeder is empty. It's borrowers!) The bottom floor is filled with necessary borrowing supplies like twine, pins, thumbtacks, birthday candles and, of course, super glue. Here's an 'in progress' shot of that same area where you can see how it was built. The upper floors are made from an old game board that has been sliced up. The floor rests on clothespegs that have been taken apart. The springy part of the pegs were then bent and are now hooks for hanging things. And, you can also see the bottom floor has a cozy rug made from a burlap rice bag. The only inkling that there's anything 'different' about this box is this tiny window on the back. Other than that, all closed up, it's just a regular old shoe box. _________________________________________________ Now, what to do with that box? Should I put it up for auction to raise fund for the Pixie Project? (although shipping the thing scares the bejezus out of me) OR Abandon it for my local library, with a note that it should be kept in their childrens section? (Our library is TINY... itty bitty even! I don't think it would incur too much damage.) Any other ideas? Comment below. There's a poll on the top right of the page. Vote away!
As a child, I loved the idea that 'little people' might be living in our house. Books like "The Borrowers" and "The Littles" allowed for much imagination and creative thinking. If your taking your kids to see the new movie, "The Secret World of Arrietty", here are a few fun ideas and resources!
illustration by beth & joe krush from the borrowers.
Iona Verity graduating for ECA Performance Costume Design chose to make a wonderful costume for Spiller from The Borrowers by Mary Norton...
Driven from their home in the big house, Pod, Homily, and Arrietty take up life in a boot. Author: Norton, Mary Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books Subject: Classics Reading Age: 8 - 12 years Binding: Paperback No. Of Pages: 224 pages Language: English ISBN-13: 9780152047320 Amazon Price: £15. 92 Title: The Borrowers Afield
If you follow this blog you may remember that a very short while ago I held a little auction to raise a few dollars for the Pixie Project. I was going to create a Borrower's Box for the auction winner. The winner was a very sweet lady who happens to live not TOO far away and she actually dropped off a fair few bits and bobs to include in the piece. I tried to include as many of those sweet little things and snippets as I possibly could. After a fair bit of ho-ing and hum-ing I managed to complete the task and the winner picked up her wee 'house' today. So, I can now safely show off what I've been working on :) This clock has been in my stash for quite a while. Sometimes when I'm stuck creatively I'll clean... when I came across this I knew it would be the perfect base for a little creatures home. The inside is hollow and made a pefect (albeit small) space. Here you can see the roof top terrace where a someone has enjoyed a spot of tea. Here's an overview of the inside. It's quite tight in there, but filled with nice little things. A detail shot of a little table with a bowl of a rose petals and a clothes peg bench. A fireplace with a gorgeous little cast iron cauldron and metal button she supplied. Upstairs there's a match stick ladder leading to a sleeping loft. You can see a stack of handmade miniature books and a birthday candle at the end of the bed. Pretty things at the bottom of the ladder. A matchbox bed with blankets made with vintage lacy bits. AND check out the size of that dolly. Believe it or not the limbs actually move! Plus, look at the mico-embroidery provided by the client. Finally, here's a little spot for a little embroider. Filled with spools, needle and thread, lace and some very sweet vintage french stamps. And, if you look in the upper right corner, you can see that the flooring is held up by snails! It was such a pleasure creating this little space and a great honor to use little heirlooms to make it even more special.
This month’s reading kit is based on The Borrowers, and I’m happy to say there were so many options for things to include that I had trouble holding myself back! I knew Arrietty’s iconic cherry tree needed to be featured, along with the tiny scissors. But then I started finding so many borrower-like mini things […]
Iona Verity graduating for ECA Performance Costume Design chose to make a wonderful costume for Spiller from The Borrowers by Mary Norton...
The classic story of ''The Borrowers,'' the little people who live beneath the floorboards who only take what they need to survive and things that won't be missed by a house's homeowners, becomes the tale of a young girl named Arrietty in this...
