Friends, Family & Fairies

I had been using digital downloads from Etsy for the fairies in my fairy jars, but I thought it would be fun to take some old photos and just add wings.  I found an old photo of myself (all dressed up for Easter Sunday) and turned it into a citified fairy.  That is the Chrysler Building behind me, and notice I've been given the key to the city which is on top of the jar.  ;-)

My sister-in-law posted an adorable old picture of herself on Facebook, and I asked her for permission to use it.  I made her into Denise the Daredevil Fairy, racing down hills on her mountain trike:

My mom has a box of old photographs at her house that belonged to my grandparents.  I'm sure there are some really great images in there.  I'm going to go through it and see what other family members I can turn into fairies!

More Captured Fairies

I am really getting into hunting fairies and putting them in jars.  (I swear no fairies were harmed during this process.  They volunteered!)

I purchased a digital download of nine different vintage ballerinas with wings from fringeart at Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/fringeart?ref=l2-shopheader-name

I Mod-Podged them to some cardstock, glittered their wings a little and made a home for them in some repurposed jars I bedazzled.

Here is Celeste, the Starlight Fairy:

And here is Gwendolyn, the Forest Fairy:

These are so much fun to make and I can use whatever odds and ends are in my craft box.  The possibilities are endless!  I used my own photographs for the backgrounds.

Cityscapes

Here are more byproducts of my fascination with glitter.  I made two different jars with village and castle scenes against a background of silver.  (Very Game of Thrones, the second one, don't you think?  You can almost hear Khaleesi calling for her dragons.)

I may do one like this with a skyline of New York City sometime - I think that would be cool!

Moroccan Influence

I am a bit obsessed with Moroccan-style jars, as you can see.  They are so beautiful and there is an infinite number of designs to be inspired by.

I used paint markers on the first three shown above (don't you love the cobalt blue one?).   I saw a lot of them on Pinterest and Etsy done with dimensional paint, though, and was itching to try that.  I made the last one - the light green one - using dimensional paint and, while it doesn't look bad, I found it much harder to work with.  That tube either squirts out too much or too little!  Maybe I just need to practice some more.  :-)

I think the tinted glass ones would make great solar lights.  Maybe it's time to buy another one of those solar lids!

Glitter and Paint - Two of My Favorite Things

I love glitter.  Earlier I said I was like a 5-year-old regarding fairies; well, I'm totally that way about glitter, too.  I really like the way it looks under glass and have taken to covering the inside of mason jars with it, and then painting designs on them with acrylic markers like the ones above.

When I first started glittering jars, I tried mixing glitter and Mod Podge and either brushing it on the inside of a jar or swirling it around to coat it.  The glitter always ended up looking streaky, though, and I got frustrated.  Then I read some internet posts by other crafters that said some people use Pledge Floor Finish for this purpose.

Pledge changed my whole glittery life!  All you do is swirl some around the inside of the jar, being sure to coat it thoroughly, and then pour it right back into the Pledge bottle.  (It lasts forever this way.)  Then put in a generous amount of glitter and shake shake shake those sparkles all around.  Dump out the excess and pour that back into your glitter container - no waste there, either.  It dries much more evenly and looks great.

Solar Light

Here is a solar light I made for our garden.  I covered the inside of a mason jar with iridescent glitter and painted the butterfly on the outside.  I sprayed it with acrylic sealer so the paint wouldn't run in the rain.  (It's rained a few times since I put it outside and it's held up quite well.)

I got the solar lid on Amazon from a vendor called Cellar_Door_Books:
http://www.amazon.com/Colonial-Tin-Works-360315-Silver/dp/B0081S1RF0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

It was $9.99, but I had Amazon credit card points so I got it for nothing (woo hoo!).  The light has worked consistently and also seems to be withstanding any rain and I'm very happy with it.  I would like to sell something like this if I ever do a craft fair, but I'm afraid the price of the lid would force me to price it higher than most people would be willing to pay.  I've gotten cheaper lids and been disappointed, though, so I wouldn't want to compromise quality.

Trapped Fairy

Here is a little captured fairy (but she looks pretty content, I think).  I got the little doll somewhere years ago, and gave her some butterfly wings and a few embellishments.  I let her have some "jewels" to hold onto, and hung some star-shaped beads from the lid.  I painted the inside back of the jar with Mod Podge and iridescent glitter so it would sparkle nicely in the sun.

I was quite pleased with the way she came out!  I am just like a 5-year-old when it comes to fairies!

Wine Glass Tea Light Holder

This is my latest creation, a candle holder, courtesy of my friend Lucy's donated glasses.  I painted the etched design with paint markers and added a little extra decoration around the stem and the bottom.  I glued some greenery and a butterfly to a circle of printed paper, and then glued that to the bottom (well, actually the top!) of the glass.  I then added some very thin green ribbon to the edge to cover up some of the hot glue excess.

Lucy gave me a box full of glasses like these in various shapes - wine, martini etc.  I can see doing a lot with this idea and putting different kinds of things under the dome.  Maybe a little figure of a bird, some seashells or holiday-specific items when appropriate!