Izzy and I had so much fun the other day creating tiny fairy gardens. So wonderful to finally get our hands in the dirt after a long rainy winter. We chose cute low maintenance moss as the grass, and Hen and Chicks for our miniature shrubs in pots. Inexpensive bird houses from Michael’s make perfect fairy dwellings, so cute!
My daughter Isabella and I spent the other evening creating these easter eggs by decoupaging elements from my paper party napkin collection. I wanted to use real eggs but for the sake of wanting to keep them for a longer time, I used wooden eggs from Michaels. To prep for this, I painted the eggs using basic acrylic paint. I then cut out the designs from the napkins. Admittedly, this part was a bit painstaking but so worth it in the end. I used glossy mod podge to adhere the design on and then coated the entire egg with more mod podge. I put the eggs in little flower pots and have them on my mantle but I think they’d make a great little addition to the Easter table. Enjoy the long weekend everyone!
This past weekend my daughter and I spent a wonderful evening covering cookies with white royal icing and painting up a Christmas storm using powdered food coloring mixed with vodka. The vodka is key as water will melt the icing base. It was so much fun and we can’t wait to create beautiful confections for Valentine’s and Easter. I never realized that a ginger snap, a plain sugar cookie or a shortbread treat could become such a wonderful tiny canvas.
For these I used little shortbread cookies and painted on royal icing thinned with water (not too thin though). I put them aside and allowed them to dry overnight. The next day I had perfect little cookie canvases. I sprinkled some red, green, white and brown powdered food colorings into my palette and mixed them with drops of vodka to create my cookie paint. Using small artists brushes I painted these little Santas. I like how cute he looks with his many different expressions.
FYI I bought both the royal icing and powdered food coloring from Michael’s.
Here are some cheerful gift tags for you to download and cut out. I think they look prettier than the regular rectangular tags don’t you? Feel free to add glass glitter or other embellishments. Warmest holiday wishes:)
Here is a super cute gift idea for anyone who has a dog. If you don’t happen to have a picture of their beloved canine you can purchase a stock image for a couple of bucks. I found the perfect Mini Schnauzer picture here and it has an unmistakably Maisy-ish look.
Maisy is our faithful seven-year old pooch and her portrait will now hang on our picture wall. If you use Photoshop you can simply create a top layer, trace the picture and fill it in with black. I also added words that describe Maisy in a dark grey tone so as not to take away from the silhouette. This is a nice way to personalize the gift. If you don’t use a graphics software you can simply print out the photo and use it as a template for a black paper or card stock cut-out. To personalize it just write the name of your friend’s pet at the bottom. Frame with an inexpensive frame (we got ours from Ikea for $4.99) and voila, perfect gift for the pet lover!!
I’m so excited about getting crafty with my new Cricut Imagine Cartridge, Floral Emporium! The collection is complete with 20 new flower patterned designs. I had fun designing the patterns so I hope you’ll have fun creating! Be sure to watch the video for some inspiration:)
I love Thanksgiving because it’s the time to express your gratitude for the blessings in your life. Here in Canada we celebrated Thanksgiving last month and this is something I did with my family this year so I’m going to share this with my American friends who will be celebrating Thanksgiving this month.
Using these leaf templates, have your guests write about the things that they are thankful for and place them in a jar. At Thanksgiving dinner, we took turns reading notes from the jar. I think it gave all of us a warm fuzzy feeling and my wish is to continue the tradition every year.
Here’s a fun and super easy Halloween craft! I used Speedball Speedy-Carve blocks readily available at Michael’s . This material cuts like butter and is so fast to work with, just use any carving knife or the following set, also available at Michael’s. I stamped my designs onto glassine bags and I think they make great goody bags for Halloween.
You can download my designs here if you’d like or create your own. Have fun and Happy Halloween!
What’s on your bucket list?
I have a very large bucket list so let’s hope I live a long life or I may run out of time. I am fortunate to have a wonderful husband who shares many of my dreams. Fraser and I have had our eye on a stunning 67’ classic motor yacht built in 1934. The M.V. Meander is moored on Granville Island which is also a busy boating community. One of our dreams is to own an historical vessel such as this and spend our summers slowly cruising up the coast among the many pretty little islands of the Pacific Northwest.
What inspires your work?
Inspiration is everywhere for me so it’s hard to put my finger on it. However, lately I have been doing collaborative drawings with my daughter Isabella. I am so inspired by the freshness of what she designs, she has no sense of right and wrong and it’s beautiful!
What movie do you watch again & again?
I love the “Shawshank Redemption” starring Tim Robbins. There is just something magical about that story and I have watched it many times. I must also admit I do rather like Tim Robbins’ cute smile…but shhh don’t tell my husband 
Tell us about your pet?
We have a very tenacious mini white Schnauzer named Maisy. She is a very smart and rather barky girl with a kind and loving temperment. Maisy has been through a lot in her 7 years. She has been hit by a truck, attacked by an Irish Wolfhound (nasty) and last year she accidentally ran off a 20 foot cliff. In each case she managed to get up and brush it off as though nothing happened which has earned her the well deserved nickname of “Sturdy Girl”. Isabella adores her and has promised her betrothel to Massimo a friends bulldog.
If you could be any age again for one week, what age & why?
I would be six years old so I could explain grown-ups to my daughter Isabella. On second thought maybe I’ll wait until Izzy turns 14 and befriend her then. I was a bit of a terror at that age and she is very spirited so, well….you get the picture 
And now it’s time for your craft!
When you’re at the country fair, why not be environmentally friendly and tote your own cutlery along with you! Download these instructions and make your very own Lily Ashbury Designs Cutlery Tote!
To further celebrate the Country Fair blog hop one of our Lily Ashbury team members, Sandy, has decided to enter the Second Annual Pie baking Contest here on Granville Island. The event is happening on September 29th as part of the Granville Island Fall Fest. With only 4 days left to choose a recipe, she’s looking for some inspiration from you!
Send us your recipe and win!
We are asking each of you to send us your most wacky or delicious pie recipe by leaving us a comment that includes a link to a recipe!
To thank you for taking the time to offer up your recipes, we’ll be randomly selecting six lucky winners to receive either a charm pack or layer cake of Moda Summer House fabric.
Thanks so much for visiting and don’t forget to visit Cosmo Cricket tomorrow.
Cheers!
Here is a really easy and fun way to show-off your paper treasures. Photos, postcards, vintage notions or anything that inspires you can be displayed this way. I hot glued some pretty mother of pearl buttons on to regular flat head thumbtacks and then wound some baker’s twine around them. This created a fun zig-zag clothesline effect. I used little photo clips/hooks to hang my collection but regular clothespins would work just as well. I think of this as a sort of mood board that will evolve and continue to inspire. Of course the pic of my lovely Isabella will be a permanent fixture!
Another Display Idea:
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