FAIRIES!

Through the mists of time, fairies and the like ~ sprites, elves, pixies, brownies and other tiny magical beings ~ have inspired our imaginations, stolen our hearts and populated our bedtime stories. This is an illustration by Eleanor Vere Boyle (British 1825-1916) from a story titled "Thumbelina" in the late nineteenth century children's book, "Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson" published in 1872.

An excerpt from this well-loved fairytale:

"What a lovely flower!", said the woman, and she kissed its beautiful red-and-yellow petals. But the moment that she kissed it, the flower burst open with with a loud snap. Anyone could see it really was a tulip, but there was a tiny little girl, very delicate and sweet, sitting in the middle of the flower on its green center. She was no bigger than your thumb, and so she was called Thumbelina.

She was given a prettily lacquered walnut shell for a cradle, and she lay there on blue-violet petals, with a rose petal coverlet over her..."

I hope this inspires you to include a picture of a vintage fairy in one of your creations this week!