'Giveaway' in an Enchanted Forest

"Blessed be the hand that prepares a pleasure for a child, for there is no saying when and where it may bloom forth." - unknown

A tiny seed of an idea took root.

It started to protude from it's small outer shell 

and send out a tenuous first little root

on the day we had a new TV delivered to our house,

back in 2005.

The TV came packaged in a large

cardboard box.

As I looked at the box,

my mind started to wander into 

 a strange place filled with enchantment.

I said to My Knight,

" Do not throw

away this box just yet... 

I think I might turn it into a tree.

If I haven't done so within two weeks

...then, by all means, throw it in the trash."

(Typically, my dear husband did not question such a comment, he is somewhat used to me coming out with strange requests.)

That left me with a breather space of two weeks, to gather my peculiar thoughts.

As a small child of about 3 years of age,

I had been given the chance to play with the lady next door's dolls house for an hour or so. It had tiny plastic dolls, one inch in size.

This was in Warwick, as I was being babysat by my Aunty Beryl.

above: Aunty Beryl

The actual moment of this memory was so fleeting...but it left a profound impression on me.

Now with grand daughters of my own, I wondered how I could enhance their childhood memories.

A doll's house just seemed a bit lame...

so I pondered

some more on the subject.

Having only a vague idea what I was getting myself into,

I just knew I had to start on this venture.

Our Family Room was soon adorned

with numerous bits and pieces of

cardboard and newspapers, stickytape and glue, as an odd looking 'thing' slowly took shape in the middle of the room.

I'm afraid it stayed looking that way

for over a month!

Visitors to our house,

just looked on perplexed,

with slightly raised eyebrows.

As well as a creative mind,

I really am so fortunate to have a very

understanding and supportive husband.

He actually thinks it's kinda cool to have a crazy wife, who is always coming up with funny,weird ideas.

My Knight says it makes life interesting.

Still not really sure what I was doing,

I just kept on at it...determined, until it was finished.

One night, there was a frightful disaster

in the wee hours of the morning.

I was so tired, that I just rolled over

after I heard the loud crash,

and went back to sleep.

But My Knight, being the brave and chivalrous, 

not only got out of bed

to see what all the commotion was about,

he also salvaged my tree.

Quietly, through the night, he gallantly managed to

get my poor soggy, saturated papier mache tree upright again,

and reinforce it with screws and pieces of timber.

Filled with consideration and courtesy,

he didn't want me to see it in such a sorry state.

I am so grateful for this kindness...as I possibly may have just given up on the whole thing, had I seen the mess that my tree was in.

As 'the tree' was nearing completion,

our  grand-kitty, 'Lilly'

thought it was a curious cubby to play in...

with it's secret internal chambers to explore.

There is a hidden Ballroom,

complete with an ornate silver mirror, 

chandelier,

and mirrored floor tiles.

Once 'the tree' was completed,

I  was happy with how it turned out, 

but the thought occured to me

 that it now needed a neighbour...or two. 

Well... you can't have a

'Secret Enchanted Forest'

with just one single tree....

can you?

If My Knight had thought that the

Family Room would once again return

to a tidy state, free of clutter and  disruption...

boy was he sure in for a surprise.

Another tree  was soon started.

(This one would be free from the

mistakes and disasters suffered by the original.)

This second tree would also have a

fireplace...

and a patio as well as a porch with staircase.

As we then had the two finished trees,

living in our Family Room,

it became paramount that

we needed a forest

for them to dwell in.

Our children had both moved out and

started families of their own,

so we had a spare room or two.

 Our son's old bedroom would became the canvas

onto  which the forest would grow.

Still not really knowing if I could really pull this off...

I had to keep plodding on.

I banished My Knight from this room

as I started to cover the walls with colour...

just incase the shock was too much for him to take in.

All he knew, was that his loony wife spent many hours each day, holed up in our son's old bedroom engaged in

 'secret artist's business'

...with acrylic paint smells wafting out each time the door was opened.

A coat of paint in varying shades of blue and pink, took away the intimidating hugeness of 'blank paper'

and made it a little easier to get some ideas scrawled on the walls.

All the while, telling myself..."Not to worry, you can always just paint over it again if it doesn't work out."

As the Enchanted Forest began to grow,

my beguiling enthusiasm had become infectious. 

 My Knight, poor unsuspecting soul,

found there was no escaping the

senseless foolishness

that was running rampant. 

"You're only given a little spark of madness.

You mustn't lose it."

- Robin Williams

Before he could stop himself, he was knee deep

in staticly-charged styrofoam, and string.

Having a wildly merry old time of it in this madhouse, 

busily carving and creating

mushrooms and toadstools

as well as a

suspension bridge

...for the 'little people' who were soon to inhabit

this incredible forest. 

The mushrooms needed somewhere to 'grow',

so a Fairy Ring was needed.

As I happened to know of a few faeries

who had beautiful blue tipped wings,

I thought I'd paint the mushrooms in the dell,

to compliment them.

I love how My Knight's mushrooms

and 'rope' bridge turned out and

I told him we make a good team.

(I think he was pretty chuffed with himself)

After hunting and gathering

ideas and pictures from library books

and the interweb, I painted some final details onto the walls.

When the walls were finished, I gave the whole thing a couple of coats of matt sealer, followed by splashes of glittery fairydust in appropriate places.

The inspiration for the snoozing blue dragon (below)

was born during a trip to Geelong, in Victoria, just down from Melbourne. 

I took a snapshot of some of the artwork

painted on a replica 1898

Gavioli Band organ

housed beside  'The Carousel', 

beautifully restored and located in

the pavilion on the Geelong waterfront.

(can you see the tiny blue dragon at the tip of the pink arrow??)

Above: My version of the said blue dragon,

with some more of Cicely Mary Barker's (1930-1950) Flower Fairies added.

A few final touches with added faux foliage, wildlife, faerie folk (and the magic of electricity)...and it was time to rest,

sit back and ponder at what sort of reaction

all this would get

from our little grandies.

I have since, created another two

enchanted trees for the 'Faerie Room'.

One, photo below, (called 'Porchlight Pixies') has a glowing purple lantern and a petite swinging sign with tiny lamp, as well as a kitchen with pantry and internal staircase.

and another, photo below, (called 'Sleepy Hollow' ) also has a petite swinging sign with tiny lamp, an internal bedroom, as well as a birdhouse with hanging 'kerosene lantern'. 

Many people have commented that we are mad.

But we didn't create the 'Secret Enchanted Forest' for 'many people'...just a 'select few'.

And those few happen to think it is the most wonderful

place to play.

AND NOW TO THE

 GIVEAWAY...

My little green amphibian friend

was only too happy to model the 'giveaway'.

 The little green frog did a spot of daydreaming

as he sat looking into the pond,

imagining himself

as the handsome Prince that he felt he could be...

For your chance to own this very charming little gold crown

embellished, bejeweled and gilded,

measuring  just one and a half inches in height,

and hand made by me...

Just leave a comment.

It's that simple.

The winner will be drawn randomly, after 14th February 2011. 

For an extra chance to win,

grab my giveaway logo

in the  sidebar of my blog and post it to your blog with a link back.

(and let me know you have done so with another comment)

Here's another if it's easier to grab:

For a third chance to win,

become a follower

(and let me know you have done so with another comment)

I will be announcing the lucky owner of the Frog Prince's little golden crown, the following day after the draw.