The Connections Warren-Watching Edition Sep/Oct/Nov 2020

theconnectionsnj.com HOME & DESIGN PAGE 40 A trip to the Emerald Isle just before the pandemic grounded everyone, intro- duced me to the Irish belief in fairies. They even place little fairy doors inside their homes. (Think Tom and Jerry cozy mouse hole.) I was enchanted and envisioned a fairy door that could be fashioned to a tree as an imaginary fairy house for my granddaughter. I reached out to a friend with a full woodworking shop, sent a pho- to and asked if he could make a little door in a door jam that could open and close. I was blown away when he sent photos of his vision. Now I needed fairies! Turning to Pin- terest, my favorite rabbit hole, the search began, starting with fairy dolls and land- ing upon peg dolls. Peg dolls are made of wood, commonly stand about 2.5” tall by .75” wide and are shaped like a round peg with a head on top. They come in a variety of styles and shapes, and can be decorated easily with paint, felt or markers to resemble any characters you can imagine. (They also fit nicely into the classic Fisher-Price Little People spaces, so perfect for little hands). Inexpensive blank peg dolls can be found on-line and at craft stores. The other supplies used include: • Small 2 oz bottles of acrylic paint in a vari- ety of colors to mix and match; • Fine point brushes or just cut down a kid size watercolor brush; • Fine point paint pens; • A pencil; • Felt for accessories; • Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating to seal painted designs and, • A glue gun for attaching felt details. Start with letting your imagination go wild. What fun making a menagerie of ani- mals, fairies, and characters frommy grand- daughter’s favorite books! Here are the steps: 1. Draw the design onto the peg doll with pencil. 2. Use a plastic lid to place small amounts of paint and an area for mixing color. Paint the main sections and let dry. 3. Use the paint pens to edge the paint- ed areas and add details. 4. Spray the pegs with Crystal Clear to set the work. Test to make sure that the paint and paint pens do not run. 5. Use felt to add accessories like hats and clothing Pinterest will provide an endless view of characters to create, hairstyles, facial ex- pression, on and on. Think about the Harry Potter characters or other characters from your favorite children’s books. Now, during this time of COVID, I can read The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown over Facetime while my granddaughter holds the peg dolls of the play- ful kittens, Brush and Hush. My daughter got into the fun and created the main characters from Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, the fig- ures of Madeline and Miss Clavel were eas- ily rendered from illustrations. Halloween is on the way. Try making a few pieces. It’s kind of addicting. I was enchanted and envisioned a fairy door that could be fashioned to a tree as an imaginary fairy house for my granddaughter. Start with letting your imagination go wild. What fun making a menagerie of animals, fairies, and characters from my granddaughter’s favorite books! FAIRY HOUSE AND PEG DOLL FUN By Carolyn Hanson Your Neighborhood Specialist has joined Keller Williams! I have lived in Warren for 25 years and I have been an agent for over 22 years! Want to find out what your HOME is worth? Please call me for a complimentary market analysis • Servicing clients in every price range • Professional Staging and Photography • Strong targeted Marketing Program with Proven Results • Specializing in Warren, Watchung, Basking Ridge and Middlesex Keller Williams Towne Square Realty 222 Mount Airy Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 Charlene "Rebecca" Rica Sales Associate - Realtor® MBA, ABR, SRS, SFR cell (908)229-2363 office (908)766-0085 8 Chesterfield Drive, Warren Weichert Realtors listing 133 Stephenson Ave, Middlesex *Price available upon request Exclusive* SOLD Rebecca is a NJ Realtors Circle of Excellence Bronze award 2019 recipient Each office is independently owned and operated Plumbing • Heating • Air Conditioning Kitchens • Bathrooms • Basements Generac ® Generators T: 732.764.0224 F: 732.764.0225 W: JohnTucciarone.com NJHVACR License No. 0700 HIC License No. 13VH00949200 NJ State Plumbing License No. 9129 US EPA Refrigerant Certificate 03NJ48108 Contact us for your plumbing repair needs and renovation ideas