LOS HECHOS QUE DAN LUGAR A LA DECISIÓN DEL DEFENSOR DEL PUEBLO EUROPEO DE 25 DE ENERO DE 2014

There is a town in Michigan, U.S.A. called Ann Arbor, where fairy doors seem to spring up all over the place…..and no-one knows who makes them!

A resident of the town, Jonathan Wright, may have been the first to spot one.

He lives in a house that is over 100yrs old and often has to repair or renovate parts of it.

One day, when he was busy building a cupboard under the stairs, his children spotted a tiny door about 6” high. They opened it and saw a tiny staircase leading up to yet another door, but this one was always locked. Another time, he was putting in a new fireplace and the children discovered another tiny door! This one opened into a room with a curving staircase leading to a balcony……and another door! Then they noticed a second door in the room with a tiny window and sometimes they have seen a light go on and off through this window. They have also heard rustlings and muffled sounds. Spooky, eh? ….or have fairies moved in?

FAIRY DOORS...

a true story!

Artisans In Miniature        67 

Soon after that, more fairy doors began to appear all over the town, often in the street, in walls, lamp-posts, outside shops etc. The townsfolk were intrigued and the local children started leaving presents for the fairies: coins, sweets, tiny hats, books etc, which all seemed to have vanished next time they came by! Everyone loved it, the story spread around the world and now people in the U.K want fairy doors too.

If you would like to make your own fairy door to put in your garden, here’s an easy way….and it just might tempt fairies to visit !

To Make A Fairy Door...

You will need:

• Air drying clay or polymer clay

• Small pebbles or shells

• Cocktail stick (toothpick)

• Card

• Paint

• Varnish

Decide how big you would like your door to be --- 5 or 6 inches is big enough --- and draw it on a piece of card. I decided to curve the top of mine but you could just have it straight if you wish.

Cut out the shape --- this is your template. Roll out your clay slightly bigger than your template and about ¼” thick.

Lay the template on top of the clay and trim round it. You could use a lolly (popsicle) stick or cocktail stick or a blunt knife to do this.

Remove the template from the clay and use your cocktail stick to outline whatever you like on the door ---a handle, hinges, bolts, a pattern perhaps.

I also marked out where I wanted to put tiny pebbles. You could use shells instead if you have some. Then I pressed them into the clay (I didn’t use glue).

I made a door knob and hinges from clay. I used the air-drying clay, so I dampened it and pressed them straight onto the door. If this doesn’t work with Fimo, say, you might have to bake the door first, add the extra bits, then bake again.

Artisans In Miniature       68  

Copyright of text and photos belongs to their authors.

Please note – although the projects in this column are for children, adult supervision is recommended at all times.

The authors cannot be held responsible for any accidents arising from these projects.

Artisans In Miniature       69  

When the clay has dried (or baked), you can paint the door and add other touches, like moss, lichen, or even dirt!

Finally, you will need to varnish the door with a weatherproof varnish if it is to be outside, and glue it in place. I suggest asking an adult to do this for you as they could use a VERY robust glue like araldite. (Tacky glue would wash off in the rain.)

Why not take a photo of your fairy door and send it to me, Margaret, at [email protected]

You might get it published in the next issue!

My grandchildren love my fairy door and always take something for the fairies, like flower petals, shells, coloured stones and

anything shiny. The strange thing is, these things have always disappeared in the morning!

If you want to find out more about Fairy Doors, here are some websites to explore:

http://urban-fairies.com/OBSERVATIONS/

SIGHTINGSpages/SIGHTINGS1.html

http://urban-fairies.com/locationspages/

locations.html

http://urban-fairies.com/background.html

Photos in this article are copyright of Margaret Pitts (www.minimilliner.co.uk)

Preview...

Anyone who has been lucky enough to visit the world famous Miniatura show will already know what a  fantastic celebration of dolls house miniatures it presents.   

Held at the NEC in Birmingham, the autumn show will bring a huge number of quality exhibitors  together  under  one  very  big  roof.    At  the  forthcoming  Miniatura  show  in  October  almost  one  fifth  of    the    total    number of exhibitors will be AIM members, giving the AIM Association an extensive and tangible presence  at this prestigious event. 

For  most  of  the  exhibitors  at  Miniatura,  preparations  for  the  show  begin  way  in  advance  of  the  doors  opening and AIM members who will be exhibiting there next month are certainly no exception.  Over the  last  few  weeks  the  anticipation  and  workloads  for  these  artisans  has  been  steadily  building  and  their       collective stocks of midnight oil, much depleted!    

On  the  AIM  forum  there  has  also  been  a  definite  ‘buzz’  in  the  air  amongst  those  members  who  will  be     exhibiting at what they affectionately call ‘The Big M’.  Many of them will have new products, ranges or  limited edition miniatures to showcase and we thought you might enjoy a little taster of what is in store  for Miniatura visitors. 

As AIM members create mainly hand crafted ‘one of a kind’ miniatures – sold on a first come, first served  basis ‐‐ visitors to the show on Saturday (when there is only a limited number of entry tickets) will certainly  benefit from having not only the first, but also the widest choice of these unique artisan pieces.  

AIM  members  can  also  be  easily    identified  as  they  will  be  displaying  their  AIM  logo  on  their  exhibition  stands.  So do keep an eye out for them! 

For  me  personally,  each  ‘Miniatura’  show  is  a  high  point  in  my  busy  fair  schedule  and  like  my  fellow         colleagues at AIM, it is also one that I look forward to enthusiastically!  I do hope that if you can, you will  take the opportunity to visit this very special show. Over the years Miniatura has become a flagship for the  miniature community, no matter which side of the exhibition table you stand and a place where, collectors  and miniature enthusiasts can find almost anything they desire, all in miniature of course! 

Bea Broadwood

Petite Properties Ltd / LUMO Publishing