Back from the Dead!

We were all smitten with this hapless fellow the day Ulla Milbrath brought him in to Castle in the Air. He's our sample for Ulla's Dia de Los Muertos Shadowbox class. He once lived a vibrant life, but sadly died of a broken heart. Ulla took pity on the little guy and arranged his bones inside a pretty little casket decorated with velvet and Dresden trim. A candle sits on top of the casket and the door is hinged in case he ever gets a little more life in his bones.

Speaking of which, the Shadowbox class sold out so quickly that Ulla's agreed to teach it a second time, on Friday, October 30. Whether you missed the opportunity to sign up for the class originally, or if you're just now meeting this charming but brokenhearted box of bones, now's your chance to make your own Dia de Los Muertos Shadowbox. See you then!

Batting Birds

John McRae and Ulla Milbrath were talking about taxidermied birds this week, so today John brought in his collection of antique cotton batting birds, all perched on a glittery branch he made himself.

John says these chirpers are probably from the 1920s or 1930s, with batting bodies and legs made of stiff wire, then wrapped with finer gold wire to simulate the scaling of actual birds' legs.

Today, these birds' natural habitat is in antique shops or at the flea market, sold in actual bird cages! Originally they could have been Christmas tree ornaments from a time when the Christmas tree was decorated with the accouterments of spring, a magic spell to make a wish for winter's end come true.

They're getting a bit worn with age, but John says that just helps them look more like their taxidermied cousins.

Cutting Up at the Castle

It's tea time at Castle in the Air, and Ulla Milbrath has just wrapped up today's class, "Introduction to Paper Cutting." She's been working with cut paper silhouettes in her home studio for some time, but today was the first time she's taught the art.

Six students arrived at the studio this morning and, using scissors and X-Acto blades, were guided through a simple cut-out of a swan. Later, they tried a more complex cut-out, one that required some interior cuts. Before the day was out, they'd finished a silhouette collage by embellishing a portrait with other images they cut out from pieces from Ulla's collection, and started on a larger project that they can finish at home.

Ulla says she loved how different every piece looked, even though they all began with some of the same elements. Some of the pictures came from Silhouettes, a Dover book by Carol Belanger Grafton that Ulla recommends. She wasn't the only one who enjoyed the day. One excited student even exclaimed, "We had more fun than we could have even imagined!"

Do you want to try it right now? Ulla's let us turn one of her simple collages into a silhouette for you to download and cut out yourself! Click here to try it!

The Wheel & The Maypole

Today our very own Ulla took ribbons and paper flowers and decorated our quiet vendor's pole in Castle in the Air's front window to help us celebrate the longer days and the coming of summer. We didn't have much sun today in Berkeley, but when Ulla added a wheel of flowers near the top of the maypole, this Scandinavian symbol reminded us that everything comes and everything goes, and that sunshine doesn't have to come from the sky to brighten the day. Happy May Day!

Castle Quick Craft: Easter Egg Theatre

The latest issue of the Castle Crier is winging its way through the ether to our dear readers as we speak. It features quite a bit of news including the announcement that our Online Shoppe is now offering 30% off and free shipping on all Dresden.





Of all the news, though, I am most excited about our new craft. The ever-talented Ulla Milbrath has created a magical view-egg for this Easter season. Made from a papier-mache form and embellished as only Ulla can do, this is a simple and cheerful project. Peek inside the egg and find a magical little place where Warren and Connie Hopper conspire to bring colored eggs to good children. Ulla found these sweeties in her collection of vintage ephemera and they now seem quite at home in their own delightful miniature springtime landscape. A large image of the original vintage postcard featuring the dear rabbit couple is included with the instructions for the Easter Egg Theatre which you can download at the Castle in the Air Online Shoppe.

"As easy as ABC (again!)"

Although we love to play at Castle in the Air, when we say "Yoyo on a String" or "Kaleidoscope in a Plastic Bag," we're not talking toys. These are techniques that will be taught by our paper-crafting pearl of a teacher, Ulla Milbrath, next weekend at her "More ABCs of Altered Books" class. The two-day course picks up where Ulla's first "ABCs" class left off, introducing more than 26 new fun ways to add excitement to your book arts project.

"More ABCs" is the first class to be added to the Castle in the Air Online Shoppe. Visit "Castle Classes" for more information or to sign up.

The Castle Crier: Valentine classes are here!

For everyone who loves to visit Castle in the Air's upstairs studio for classes with our amazing crafting and art teachers, the wait is over! If you're on our mailing list, you can expect your copy of the spring class flier within a few days. And if you can't wait that long (and if you've signed up on our email list), check your inbox for your copy of The Castle Crier, the Castle in the Air's brand new email newsletter!

The first issue of The Castle Crier includes information on five special Valentine's Day-themed classes that begin next week. There are plenty of seats still available for the classes, in which you can learn these fun and festive crafts (pictured left to right):







* A deliciously lovely needlefelted strawberry cake box (taught by Caron Dunn)
* A papier-mache heart box with delicate paper cut decoration (taught by Ulla Milbrath)
* A "lover's eye" brooch to remind you of your sweetheart (taught by Ulla Milbrath)
* A Valentine optique to celebrate romantic love (taught by John McRae)
* An antique-inspired velvet heart box (taught by John McRae)

Because not everyone who wants to join in the fun can make it to our store classes, every issue of The Castle Crier also features a special craft that you can make at home. This issue's project is by our needlefelting queen Caron Dunn, who will teach you how to make the precious little Valentine's heart charms pictured at the top of this post. You can attach them to a charm chain, a love letter, or anything that could use a little more love. Visit The Castle Crier for all the details!

Silhouettes from Ulla

Yesterday I was so charmed when Ulla Milbrath came by and gave me the sweetest present -- a silhouette papercut scene starring Pinocchio and some of his winged friends! We're big fans of Pinocchio at my house, and are thrilled to have the honor of hanging Ulla's fantastic picture in our house.

For those of you who want to try silhouette papercut for yourself, Ulla has promised to teach a class this spring at Castle in the Air on this intricate and rewarding art. Sign up for our class schedule and we'll email you once the date is set.

Spinning Back to Summer

This coming Saturday and Monday, Castle in the Air is hosting two day-long sold-out classes in the marvelous art of the paper pinwheel, taught by John McRae. John was inspired to create a small collection of whirligigs after a visit to Ulla Milbrath's house, where he saw an antique lithograph of a pinwheel vendor. At the time the picture of this merchant was drawn, the spinning paper contraptions were popular children's toys. The word "whirligig" is much older though, coming from the verb "to hurl," and in the 15th century was used to describe a way of vomiting!

John's pinwheels were part of our window display all summer, and people came into the store to admire and play with them. Summer has been over for weeks, but a hot day like this is enough to distract us from Christmas preparation and take us all back to the dog days.

Pieces of History at Castle in the Air

One of the most amazing treasures I brought home from my recent trip to the International Quilt Festival in Houston was a collection of antique reliquaries, including one from the 18th century (pictured in the center of this photo). These miniature shrines have been used for centuries to exhibit the physical remains of saints and other religious figures. It's next to impossible to know whether the contents of a particular reliquary are authentic, but for collectors this often adds to the charm of these odd and beautiful pieces of history.

A few times each year, local artist Ulla Milbrath teaches a reliquary making class at Castle in the Air. Students bring in relics from their own life to commemorate within the little shrines they make, which can be small enough to wear as pendants. I made two reliquaries in one of Ulla's classes, preserving the umbilical cords and bits of hair from my darling daughters. It's a religious experience in itself to combine soldering and other jewelrymaking techniques with the love and personal investment inherent in making reliquaries.