old stuff

I love this little spot on my shelf in the craft room. I got the globe at the flea market for $2 and I found the plastic lion buried in the garden. I love it when I find bits of my childhood out in the dirt (usually it's old Matchbox cars!).

look who I just found

I was weeding away and minding my own business and I looked up to see this little fella hiding in the daffodils. He kinda scared me! What a cutie pie. Mama rabbit made her nest in the middle of the yard, so this guy must be out exploring.
He reminded me of all the years working at the nature center. We would get calls all the time from worried people that found a bunny nest that they thought was abandoned, or a tiny little bunny all alone. One day, a woman came in with a terrified bunny in a box. She said something like, "I had to chase this all over the yard to catch it, it's mother was no where in sight." Oye.

The mother only feeds them once or twice a day, usually at dusk and very early in the morning, so chances are you aren't going to actually see a mother rabbit care for her babies. She stays away to keep them safe from predators - she has a scent, but the babies don't yet! Isn't that neat? Lucy, our beagle, didn't have a clue the nest was there until she saw the mother feeding them and she chased her away. She's already forgotten all about it (but we put a little fence up around the nest in case she remembers!)

I found a nice web site with a bunch of FAQ's about baby bunnies that I thought I'd share. I know people mean well and don't want the babies to die or suffer, but sadly that's usually exactly what happens when people take the babies away from where they were found and try to care for them themselves (or even if they take them to a rehabber). I'll also find one about baby birds soon and share it here.

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. :)

weekend finds

On Sunday my mom and I went to the flea market. It was a little slow, but here's some of what I found:
I found a couple more vintage puzzles for $1 each. These make me really happy. I'm in love with the illustrations on the one with the numbers.

And look! Some of the deer puzzle pieces are fun little shapes. Adorable!

I also found two embroidered doily things.. I love the simple look of the flowers. They look sort of modern.

something for summer

Fabrics for a beach/picnic/backyard quilt. Inspired by the fantastic vintage sheet at the bottom. I love it!

dessert

I made this key lime pie for a party we had last weekend.. It was delicious. This was the last piece, as you can probably tell. I got the recipe right here, but I used regular limes because I made something like this with the lime peels. I used watermelon jello and added vodka instead of the 1c. of cold water! They looked awesome. And they were very strong. :)

Have a great weekend!

around our house

It seems like everything has just exploded around here in the last week or so. Yesterday I finally had some time to wander around and take a few photos..
The apple blossoms are open! It's my favorite flower.. the smell is heavenly. And the sound of all the bees busily gathering nectar is incredible! I would love to get married under an apple tree in full bloom. My favorite flowers and my favorite little insects surrounding us. :) (Would the bees freak out the guests??)
(This is Phlox subulata 'Candystripe'. It makes a pretty mound and is one of the first things to bloom in our garden.)

Every year the empty lot across the street gets painted in yellow. I think it's so pretty. I'll never understand why some people hate dandelions so much. This morning I watched two goldfinches enjoy a breakfast of the seeds.
My friend the carpenter bee. :)
Another one of my favorites - violets (mixed in with some lady's mantle, which I also love!).
And we have a robin nest on our back light! I've been watching her work on it for the last week or so and I peeked in it yesterday (I had to use a mirror!).. there's one egg in it so far.

for the birds

I found this idea (can't remember where!) last year while looking for something else and I thought it was so fun. So I thought I'd try it. Just fill a suet feeder with scraps of yarn and strings from fabric and hang it outside for the birds to collect to add to their nests. I used only natural fibers - mostly cotton and linen and a bit of wool and I made sure they were all pretty short so no one gets tangled. I hung it by the feeders in hopes that they would notice it. I haven't seen anyone on it yet but I'll keep watching. :)

reusable produce bags

After finding some sheer lightweight fabric on clearance at Joann's, I decided it was high time to make myself some produce bags. I used my drawstring bag directions and made the large bags to be about the same size as the ones at the grocery store. They're about 11 ½” x 18” (I think they're a little too big though). I bought a yard and a half and I was able to make 4 large, 2 medium (8 ½” x 11") and 2 small (6” x 9”). They were easy enough to make but the fabric gave me a bit of a hard time. Folding the top over a couple of times for the drawstring casing was difficult because the fabric was slippery and you couldn't really crease it with an iron. After I gave up on having them look just right, the process went a bit smoother. Next time I think I'll look for something a little less slick.

flea market tips

Ok, here are my techniques for getting a good deal at the flea market. Hopefully you'll find them helpful. :)

1. First of all, I haggle. The vendors expect it. The ones that completely refuse to go down on their prices usually don’t get my business. Plus it’s really fun.

2. It never hurts to ask. If something’s not priced and I think it could be a little out of my price range, I ask anyway. Sometimes I’m shocked at how low their price is.

3. Offer a price you think is fair. Again, it never hurts to ask. They just might take it.

4. I go often. The more I go the more I’m familiar with average prices on the items I’m looking for so I can spot a steal (or a rip-off).

5. When I’m looking for something in particular, I’m very stubborn and patient. I spend a few weeks (or seasons, in some cases!) pricing the item I’m interested in and wait until I find it at a really great price.

6. Sometimes it’s good to walk away. I've had vendors call me back and accept the price I offered them (after they turned it down at first).

7. I try to control myself when I’m really excited about spotting something I love. I ask about a few other things first. I've found that if they know I love something they’re less willing to go down on the price – they assume I’ll pay their price because I love it.

8. I don’t ask them if they can go any lower on a price. Usually when they give a price it’s still a bit too high for me (um, I’m really cheap). Instead, I give them a price that I’m willing to pay.

9. I show them the money! If I think they might be unwilling to haggle, I like to have the exact amount out and in my hand when I name my price. It seems like they don’t say no as often when they can see it.

10. But I make sure they don’t see all my money… if they see a couple of $20’s I don’t think they would negotiate as much.
11. I bring lots of singles. If I ask if they’ll take $3 on something priced $5, I wouldn't hand them a $5 bill.

12. If I see something I liked but the vendor turned down what I offered, I go back to it later in the day. They may be willing to negotiate so they don’t have to bring it home.

13. You find good stuff early in the season and early in the day and good deals late in the season and late in the day.

14. When I’m looking for furniture, I basically ignore the condition. Instead I focus on the shape. Things like chipped or ugly paint, missing drawer pulls, wobbly legs, often greatly reduce the price and those things are easy (and fun) to fix.

15. Finally (and I think most importantly!), I make sure I’m nice. I tell them good morning, smile… make eye contact, maybe chat a little with them. They’re more willing to make a deal with me if they like me.

my favorite time of day

rain out

I had plans on Sunday morning to go to the flea market for the first time this year but it was closed due to rain (and then of course it cleared up and was beautiful for a while and then it rained again. If you don't like the weather just wait 5 minutes right?). Anyway, I was bummed.. I'm itching to do some serious haggling. They don't negotiate prices at thrift stores, you know. I've tried before. hehe... (Later this week I'll share some tips that I've found helpful for getting good deals at flea markets. Exciting!)
So for Plan B my mom and I went to an estate sale, where I found a few little treasures: vintage handkerchiefs, a linen dish towel, doilies, a set of cute little painted trays, an old canning jar (for a terrarium of course!), an old frame, and a vintage suitcase... all for $5! And if that wasn't enough, as we were leaving my mom spotted some amazing moss growing in the cracks of the cement and I took some. Is that considered stealing? Wait 'till you guys see this stuff before you judge me.. I think you would have done the same thing. :)

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.

muffin love

I've been making (and eating) muffins quite a bit lately. I love them because they're slightly sweet but filling and somewhat healthy. Can't go wrong! Both of these I got from this Martha Stewart article, the ones above are the oat bran-applesauce mini muffins (the grocery store was out of wheat bran, so I substituted wheat germ and whole grain wheat flour and they were still really good. I now have the wheat bran but haven't tried it the right way yet).

This one is the banana-blueberry cornmeal muffin. The bananas make them nice and moist and the cornmeal (I love cornmeal) adds a really wonderful texture to them. Next time I think I'll add more blueberries. The recipe called for a cup, I'll try a cup and a half.

raindrops..

..keep fallin' on my head... (I love that movie)