10 things I love

Hey everyone, how's your weekend going so far? I know I haven't blogged in a few days so I thought it would be fun to make another list of things I'm loving right now...

1. These little beauties next to my computer:

2. May Giveaway Day on the Sew Mama Sew! blog. I would love to do a giveaway.. we'll see if I find the time. :)

3. I'm loving cross stitch more and more.. like this one by Etsy seller neawear. Isn't it adorable? (photo by neawear):

4. This amazing tilt-shift video by Keith Loutit, which I found on the How About Orange blog. (Um, I don't know how to add videos, so you'll have to click the link. Sorry about that! But it's worth it.)

5. Also from the How About Orange blog, a tilt-shift maker. I spent more time than I'd like to admit playing with this thing. The photo below is one that I made.. I took it at Greenfield Village last summer. Doesn't it look like a miniature?

6. I'm almost finished with a big freelance job I've been working on so once that is done I'll be able to turn my attention to my garden! (and a million other things I want/need to do!)

7. All that green!

8. This Etsy shop I recently found, ++SIESTA++. She's from Japan and makes the most adorable and beautiful hand-sewn items. Check out her blog as well.

9. This pretty paper mache bowl from The Lulu Bird:

10. And the summer quilt top is finished! I'll share more soon. :)

terrariums & mushrooms

Happy Earth Day everyone! I thought I'd share a little earthy related craft for today.

Over the past week or so I've been a little obsessed with moss. That obsession evolved into making terrariums, and, naturally, hand crafted mushrooms for said terrariums. I am really loving these happy little jars of green. Wouldn't these be great little gifts or party favors?

To make them I just put a thin layer of pebbles in the bottom for drainage and then a bit of soil and just pat the moss into the soil. You mist the moss and from what I've been reading you only need to do that every two weeks or so. You need to use a lidded jar, I made my first one in a votive holder with no lid and it dried out pretty much overnight. I made this one in an old jar that had honey in it and the one with the gold lid held salsa. I'm going to start looking at the thrift stores for more.

I got my moss from outside so I've been checking in the jar every couple of days because I've been finding little insects in there (I let them free outside!)

I molded the mushrooms out of fimo clay and stuck a little wire into them before they were baked. Once baked and cooled, I painted them with acrylic paint and sealed them with a non-toxic satin varnish.

10 things I love...

1. Finding a bag of wooden acorns at the thrift store:
2. Black Apple's beautiful new kitchen.

3. These faux bois blocks from something's hiding in here:

4. This fun fabric that was delivered to me today. :)

5. Old sheets swaying in the breeze
6. Instructions on how to develop film using coffee and vitamin C... where was this when I was taking all those college photography classes?!

7. Sharon Montrose's fantastic photographs:

8. Babies!:

9. This ingenious craft from How About Orange.

10. Oh, and the sun, the sun, the sun! It's out and it's warm!!

... have a great weekend!

napkins? coasters?

..I don't really know what they're for, but I love them. Look at the mermaid!

More lovely things I found: vintage sheets, linen napkins, an awesome crochet pot holder (Brian hates it, hehe), and a few more linen napkins. One cannot have too many linen napkins! :)
A vintage stuffed dog and cat sewing pattern and a tin of buttons:
And finally, one of my favorite finds from the weekend:

isn't it sweet?

i love this

(photo by Jamaica)

I found this pillow on Jamaica's blog the other day and I fell in love. The pillow is to die for but what I really love is how she did it. She scanned vintage papers and then printed the images out onto inkjet fabric sheets.

This is one of those wonderful ideas that just overwhelms me with all of the creative possibilities... I'm thinking.. old maps, dictionary pages, paint-by-numbers, vintage magazines.. so many things would be perfect for this. Even vintage fabric scraps maybe?

more quilt inspiration

As I was collecting those wonderful quilt images from Monday I was reminded of a quilt exhibit Brian and I went to last winter at the Henry Ford Museum. It featured quilts made by Susana Allen Hunter dating from the 1930s to the 1970s. They were such an inspiration so I figured you would all enjoy them as well.Several were made from old work clothes.. see where the jeans pockets were removed?
A saying I tell myself often (and try to live by) is "Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Or do without."
These quilts are proof that you don't have to go out to the fabric store to get brand new pretty fabrics to make a pretty quilt, don't you think?
(this one's my favorite)

I have more quilt photos from this exhibit that I'll post sometime soon.

quilts on flickr

The other night I was looking for quilt photos on Flickr because I'm in need of some inspiration for Brian's quilt (that's right, I haven't started it yet. I'm horrible!). I found quite a few amazing quilts. Some of my favorites are pictured above. #2 is my most favorite of all of them, I love it so much. Looking at these all together I see that I'm drawn to square(ish) blocks surrounded by white space. I guess that's a starting point for Brian's quilt.

Here are the links:

1. a quilt of our own 2. cecilia's quilt 3. WIP: A quilt for me. 4. Quilt top 5. Paintbox Quilt on the Sofa 6. Aqua Daisy Chain quilt top 7. A field of flowers quilt top 8. quilt top 9. #3's quilt 10. Rainbow baby quilt 11. button quilt up close 12. quilt paint box whole 13. Quilt for the crib 14. red and aqua quilt 15. Study in Blues and Red - Modern Art Quilt 16. Log Cabin Baby Boy Quilt 17. I found a quilt top today! 18. Quilt from Grandmom 19. sun and moon 20. Colorway Quilt

100 things to make

This is my 100th post. To celebrate I compiled a list (have I mentioned before how much I love lists?) of 100 things to make. I included things you can sew, knit, make with paper, cook, and a few other miscellaneous things thrown in for variety. Some have links.. maybe eventually I will make a link for all of them?

The next time you're itching to create something but you just don't know what, hopefully the list here will help you out a bit. And sorry if some seem a bit random (fairy wings?), coming up with 100 ideas wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. :)

Ok, here it is:

1. purse
2. lunch bag
3. tote bag
4. drawstring bag
5. sachets

6. quilt
7. pillow
8. napkins
9. apron
10. coasters
11. placemats
12. table runner
13. oven mitt
14. tea towels
15. tea cozy
16. juggling blocks
17. cloth book
18. bib
19. burp cloth
20. fabric blocks
21. doll
22. doll clothes
23. stuffed animal
24. felt food
25. fabric ball
26. banner (bunting)
27. dress
28. skirt
29. smock
30. pajamas
31. slippers
32. sewing machine cover
33. curtains
34. pin cushion
35. wine bag
36. checkbook cover
37. book jacket
38. gift bags / wraps
39. pencil roll
40. bookmarks

41. scarf
42. cowl
43. gloves
44. mittens
45. fingerless mitts
46. sweater
47. hat
48. bonnet
49. baby booties
50. socks
51. leg warmers
52. baby rings
53. felted ball
54. pot holder
55. blanket
56. felted bowl
57. wash cloths
58. felted tote bag

59. magnets

60. fabric covered Altoid tins
61. matchbook notepads
62. cards
63. books
64. notepads
65. scrapbook
66. flash cards
67. book plates
68. recipe cards
69. postcards
70. calendars
71. stationery set
72. to/from tags
73. place cards
74. memory game

75. magic wand
76. fairy wings
77. cape
78. finger puppets
79. play dough
80. finger paint
81. dollhouse
82. dollhouse furniture
83. origami
84. snow globes
85. rattle
86. wooden blocks
87. ornaments
88. mobile

89.

lip balm
90. lotion
91. soap
92. shampoo
93. laundry detergent
94. candles

95. chocolate chip cookies
96. smoothies
97. pesto
98. zucchini bread
99. soup
100. pumpkin torte

bees abuzzing

My favorite... the bees. The best for last. :) I hope you've all enjoyed this little book as much as I have!

I've been wanting this Christmas season to mean a little bit more.. all of the obnoxious blow up decorations, the excess, the spending... well if I'm not careful it can make me a bit of a Scrooge. And that's not good. That's why I'm so glad I rediscovered an amazing charity the other night: Heifer International.

You purchase animals (the type depends on how much money you donate) and those animals help families that need it. From heifer.org: "Heifer projects around the world help families achieve self-reliance through the gift of livestock and training. Gifts are passed from recipient to recipient until entire communities are transformed." How wonderful. How simple. You can spent as little as $20 and give a family a flock of chicks, ducks, or geese. Or spend $30 for honeybees. :) Or whatever you can afford. I just love this idea and I haven't stopped talking about it to my friends and family. :) I plan on giving a family some bees.

I know this is just one organization and there are tons of wonderful ones out there but this one got me excited. And here's a great post I found from the Handmade Homeschool blog, encouraging everyone to "Do what you Can". Great ideas on ways to help if you just don't know where to start.

Edited to add: I found a few other neat charity sites to check out: Changing The Present, Redefine Christmas, and The Jane Goodall Institute. Please share your favorites as well!

A way to help

The other day, SouleMama shared a project she's been working on called Mama To Mama. Her first project is to make caps for newborns that will be distributed in Safe Birthing Kits in northern Haiti. On the Mama To Mama blog, she has more information and you can also download a PDF with directions and a pattern to make the caps (and an address to send them to once you're finished). They look super easy and they're made out of repurposed t-shirts! Everyone has a few old t-shirts around, right?

I also love this quote that's on her new blog: "I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again." -Stephen Grellet

Lobster and Swan

I found this Etsy shop, Lobster and Swan from the Creature Comforts blog today. I love her "Estate sale" lots (like the one above). Just looking at them has me dreaming about all the wonderful things I could create with such a lovely box of treasures.

I want to live here.

Isn't this just the perfect house? I want to curl up on that couch and knit while a snow storm blows outside. Not that I want it to snow or anything. I'm just sayin' if it were it would be nice to be in that house.
http://www.simondale.net/house/