Originally posted on Acorn Tops Tumblr: On Fairy Wings and Acorn Hats Snow White inspired fairy garden! What can we find deep in the forest of rosemary and sweet alyssum? Hi-ho! Hi-ho! The dwarves pick-axes! Off to work they go! "Just one bite…" of this apple bird house! Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairy-est of them all!
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Originally posted on Acorn Tops Tumblr: On Fairy Wings and Acorn Hats The Cat’s Meow is certain to draw fairies! Featuring rosemary and succulents, it is easy to care for and has everything a fairy would love! Some interesting and colorful rocks to explore! Some of a fairy’s best friends are aerial creatures! A bird flies in the succulents! A furry friend plays with the bees by the rosemary! A birdhouse welcomes any and all!
![]() The first magic any of us really experience is in a book. There is nothing more magical than joining Jack and Annie when the tree house spins faster and faster until everything is still, absolutely still. They transport us to Neverland and Wonderland. They teach us things. That loving something can make it real because we’ve all had our Velveteen Rabbits. To sit and smell the flowers like Ferdinand. Or all you need is a purple crayon to make a whole new world. Sometimes the magic was in understanding a character so completely, because we’ve all had terrible, horrible, no good very bad days. Sometimes the magic was in the simple joy Amelia Bedelia’s blunders brought us or Dr. Seuss’s nonsensical rhymes. And sometimes the magic was simply just in saying goodnight to the moon. ![]() For me, my favorite books growing up are filled with memories. Not so much my mom tucking me in at night, though it is that too. The memories and magic for me are a connection. In each of my grandmother’s Lucy Maud Montgomery books, my grandmother wrote her name. For me to pick up that book that she loved so much, means the world. It is a type of magic that words fail to describe. To hold the books she held, to read the words she read, it is like her being there and reading them with me. My all time favorite children’s book, though, would be My Mama Had A Dancing Heart. I cannot write a blog about children’s books without mentioning that one book in particular. The mention of it alone makes me smile, because it is something my mom and I share to this day. John Green called reading a collaboration between the reader and the author. I would go a step further and say it is also a collaboration between reader and reader. There is something special, something exciting when someone reads or has read the same book. There is a personal and intimate connection, whether it’s between family, friends, classmates, or that random customer who walks into your booth. ![]() Constantly, I return to this first magic. A lot of times for me, personally, it’s like visiting old friends. Once more, I explore The Hundred Acre Woods. Once again, Max and I start a wild rumpus. Years later, since my library has grown, so has that magic and my inspiration. Now I find it in J.R.R. Tolkien’s poetry: “Not all who wander are lost.” Or in some contemporary young adult literature. Through fairy doors and fairy houses and ornaments, I’m able to take this magic and continue that connection and collaboration. It has always been the first real magic, and now, for me, it is where I turn to first for inspiration. Originally posted on: On Fairy Wings and Acorn Hats ![]() This picture hung in every bedroom of every house my grandmother lived in. She received this picture when she was six year old, Christmas 1934 from her Sunday School teacher. She gave this picture to me, and ever since I have carried on that same tradition. This picture was the inspiration for my business and has now become my logo. When my grandfather passed away, we received his carving tools. Many of these tools were handmade themselves. They have the initials carved into the bottoms of the handles. The ones that are not handmade are labeled in permanent marker. Every time I hold them, it’s like holding his hands. With my grandmother’s inspiration and my grandfather’s tools I have created Acorn Tops. From the picture, my line of products have expanded from hand carved Fairy Doors to include Fairy Houses, Fairy Gardens, Fairy bottles, ornaments, and soon Raggle Taggle Fairy Dolls. My business is small. These roots, this tie to the past and to my family will give me the wings for me and my business to soar. Originally posted on: On Fairy Wings and Acorn Hats One of the reasons I love what I do is the freedom to create what inspires me and to incorporate what I love. This allows me to geek out as part of my work. Tardis Fairy House anyone?
The other benefit is creating what I love and being able to use what I love to make a difference. Items inspired by the fantastic book, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, are sold to help This Star Won’t Go Out. This foundation helps children with cancer and their families. Other small, handmade businesses like Seeds of Inspiration gives 10% of their proceeds to a new charity each quarter. This quarter all proceeds go to Paws for A Cause. In the past, they made special scented apples for Reading is Fundamental. Jessie’s Custom Greetings has been working with Packages for Patriots, giving 10% of their proceeds, as well as buying one of her handmade cards to send to troops. Cholie’s Hart makes special crocheted caps for San Pedro’s Relay for Life. When the proceeds do not go to an organization, foundation, or charity, I also can make a difference through various forms of “protest art” like my Beehive Fairy House that reads “SAVE THE BEES.” If I do not give money, I can spread awareness. Sometimes the difference I can make with my art is not just in giving money or spreading awareness,but in the smiles my products can create. Two adults see a Where The Wild Things Are Inspired Fairy House, smile, and start reminiscing about childhood memories or a child gets excited about seeing a Thomas The Tank Engine Door or a Fairy Door of their favorite superhero. Sometimes the biggest difference I think I make, is in the creation of smiles or making someone’s day. I might not have a lot to give, but at least I can give that. |
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