"In my studio in the historic village of Badin, North Carolina, I create hand-painted gifts in colors and designs inspired by the gardens of my native England. Each piece reflects my dedication to fine craftsmanship and each piece is original and one-of-a-kind. Please enjoy my work as a gift to yourself or someone special."
Bridget Fox Huckabee
English Cottage Birdhouses
Many of my birdhouses are specially made by a North Carolina woodworker. Each house is painted, sanded and painted again and then a hand-painted design is added using acrylic paint. The roof is shingled with long-leaf pinecone ‘leaves.’ Two coats of varnish complete the work. These birdhouses are suitable for outdoor use, but I advise bringing them in during the winter months and giving an extra coat of varnish at least every other year. This way they will give you many years of pleasure.
English Garden Flowerpots
My flowerpots come in two designs: hand-painted and decoupaged.
Hand-painted pots and saucers are painted with a high-quality base coat before a hand-painted design is added using acrylic paint. The pot is then glazed inside and out. I advise using a liner to insure longevity.
Decoupaged pots and saucers are first painted with a high-quality base coat. For decoupage I use one-ply tissue from paper napkins. The pots and saucers are then glazed inside and out. As with the hand-painted pots and saucers, I advise using a liner.
Floral Watercolors
My floral watercolors are 4” x 6” with a 2” mat and are framed in gold filigree frames with clear glass. The flowers I paint often come from my English cottage garden and I try to capture as nearly as possible the delicate colors of each bloom.
Bridget Fox Huckabee
I love crafts and my maiden name was Fox. What else could I call my business but The Crafty Fox? I also love gardening and when I arrived here from England I promptly planted an English cottage garden. Bloom where you’re planted, I thought. But many of my flowers wilted and died. I soon learned that the red clay soil and blistering summer heat and high humidity of North Carolina did not suit the flowers of my native England. All right, I thought, I’ll plant what will bloom. And as I adapted to my new home, I was confident that in the garden I’d be able to feel my way into my changed life. It wouldn’t be a conscious thought process, but more a relaxation of the mind as I dug and planted, a relaxation that would allow adjustment to take place. As the roots of new plantings in my flowerbeds began to grow deep, my own first tentative roots reached into the soil of this rural county, found sustenance and bloomed.
Today, I use this garden as an inspiration for the watercolors, birdhouses and hand-painted flowerpots of The Crafty Fox
