Second childhood?!

Here are a couple of cards made with some of my new stash from Harrogate. Anyone who has read previous posts will know that I don't do cute. I must admit, however, that I do have a liking for fairies. Probably for the same reason that I like butterflies - they are such beautiful, ethereal creatures. A favourite book from my childhood, one which I still have (it's older than me!), is called "Once Upon A Birthday".


It tells the story of two children, a boy and a girl, who meet in Fairyland having been taken there magically to celebrate their respective birthdays. I loved it because it's full of gorgeous, colourful pictures of fairies. They have lots of exciting adventures in Fairyland, and in the end the little girl, once back home, gets a fairy outfit complete with wings for a birthday present, something I always wanted (particularly the wings!) but sadly never received!

Some time ago, at school, we had a reading week when staff were asked to take in a favourite book from their youth to read to a class. I took my fairy book, of course, interested to see what modern, worldly wise children, aged 5 to 7, raised on computer games and TV, would make of it. The story is strongly moralistic (eg. in one chapter a little fairy sulks because she lost a race in the school games, and her punishment is to come last in every game until she has learned her lesson, which she duly does) and quite politically incorrect. I was surprised, not to say delighted, that without exception they loved it. And, even more surprising, the boys did as much as the girls!

So what started this train of thought? New fairies from Lavinia Stamps! Lavinia Stamps are designed by Tracey Dutton, and her stand at the shows is always full of beautiful samples which are treats for the eyes. I was really taken with one card in particular. Check out her Gallery and you'll see it. This is my attempt to recreate it. I bought the Fairy, Vine & Secret Garden stamps at the show, and then filled in with others I already had, all Lavinia except for the trees on the left, which are by Innovative Stamp Creations. I would have bought the Lavinia Tree Root stamp also, but I'd run out of money by then, so I had to make do. I liked this fairy because she isn't too cute, and I love the air of mystery and magic about the "Secret Garden".




Still on the childhood theme, I couldn't resist these miniatures from
Clarity Stamp. I found the pretty ribbon at Harrogate too, but I'm pleased to say that all other materials on this card are old stash!

(The background paper, by Papermania, doesn't show up very well in the small photo - click on it to see the detail in the big one.)