Par Avion: Tree Hugger

Ooh ~ a lovely package in the mail! Excitement rained upon me today when I received my much anticipated and longtime “Etsy-favorited” item, the Belle & Boo “Tree Hugger” print, featuring a little girl hugging a tree and a deer off in the background looking on so peacefully.

Receiving this fabulous print brings to mind a recent, most amazing event that I will surely never forget. Last Saturday, mid-morning, as I was preparing some strawberry pancakes, Hubby and I witnessed a very precious sight. Looking out our kitchen window, I noticed that a deer was lying down in the tall grass in the small patch of woods that separates our house from our neighbors. It’s not at all unusual to see deer in our yard or woods, but something about this deer struck me as odd. Looking a bit more closely and then breaking out the binocs, I realized that there was the tiniest baby deer covered in white spots standing next to the deer lying down. Soon after, I noticed a second baby deer with them too! We watched them quietly, sticking our heads out the back screen door, careful not to alarm the mama deer and her babies. It was clear to me that these deer were very newly born, but just how new I wasn’t sure.

After much “oohing” and “ahhing” over the sight of watching the mama deer care for her fawns, occasionally licking them clean or nursing them, watching the mama lay back down, and the babies gently touching noses with their new mama’s nose, I felt like I was almost intruding on such a precious, sweet moment. The fawns were so tiny and were walking about a bit on unsteady legs, but never going more than a few feet from their very tired, resting mama.

A little bit later, I called our next-door neighbors to see if they were witnessing this same amazing sight. I discovered from Mrs. Neighbor that she had indeed witnessed even the moment of birth just a few hours earlier. I asked her if this was a common occurrence, being that this is our first Spring in our new home here, and she said this was a first for her. Normally deer go deeper into the woods to give birth and perhaps it is not a good sign that they are getting too comfortable around humans. But on this perfectly warm mid-morning, as the sun was brightly shining, the sky was blue, the birds were singing, and new green leaves dressed the trees and filtered rays of sunlight into our woods on this precious new family, for just a little while, all seemed at peace and right in the world.

{The deer are in there somewhere, do you see?}


This print also strike a chord with me as well perhaps because well…I love trees, sun, flowers, green grass, forests, rivers, rocks, shells, lakes, beaches, creatures great & small, etc, etc…so I guess that might make me a “tree hugger”…I guess…there…I said it…I’m a tree hugger. But who doesn’t love those things or at least most of those things? They are a part of our world, the foundation for where we live. I’m certainly not the often stereotyped “Birkenstock-wearing, granola-eating” kind of tree hugger. Well, I guess I do like granola. I’m actually quite addicted to Target’s Archer Farms brand of French Vanilla Almond Granola right now and I nearly freak out when they are so very often out of it at my Target…it seems many others have caught on to this addiction too.

But that’s beside the point. I’m not sure what the exact definition of a “tree hugger” is, but perhaps I’ve been one my whole life. Some people often think of a “tree hugger” as being a bad thing…a far out, wacky sort of nut-job kind of person who only cares about the earth. But why does caring for the earth, appreciating creation & nature, have to be in conflict with the notion of caring for humans and other such important values? Why does it have to be one or the other? Why can’t it be both and all things? Why shouldn’t we want to recycle or not litter or do other common sense things that won’t hurt our environment, in addition to caring about people too?

So there you go…now you know some of my “tree hugger-ish” thoughts & frustrations. I’m a basically normal person (I think!) who enjoys great food, breaking the bank at Anthropologie, and other such materialistic pursuits…but I also love a good hike through the woods, and my heart hurts just a bit when I see the so-called “progress” of clearing acres of land of big, tall beautiful trees to make room for more town homes or such. I know people need homes too! So okay, I’m in conflict about this, just a little. I’m going to go stare at my new, peaceful, forest-filled “Belle & Boo” print now! Ta ta!

Serendipity

It has been an odd, mixed up sort of week, with the Memorial Day holiday being a completely ‘soak-into-your-bones’ kind of cold, misty day (there goes the yard work!) …a sick hubby on both ends of the week (he thought he was better and then had a relapse of sorts, can you say "laundry!")…the delivery of our first gas grill! (no more charcoal for us)…and a delightfully fun time with dear visitors mid-week.
A bright moment for me was a visit to a charming shop…Serendipity. I think that’s a darling name for a shop. Situated on the east end of Duluth, Serendipity is in a big old house, full of character, and filled with a mix of both new & vintage things for the home, garden, or gifting. The exterior is painted a really lovely combo of blue & chocolaty-brown with pops of fuchsia under the roof overhang. (Unfortunately, the pic above does it no justice as it was a very overcast, drab time of day.) This also just happens to be a new place where I’m sharing some of my creations including votives and gift boxes.
My favorites things there right now include an array of vintage birdcages, some in colors of white, pink, and a very rustic, brassy gold. I had been thinking about the pink birdcage in particular since my last visit to Serendipity, and since it was still there on this visit, I decided I must purchase it so I can stop thinking about it. Now I’m struggling over just which corner of my home I should hang it from. If you are in the area, this shop is worth taking a peak at. It’s so fun to peruse the different rooms and even the little outdoor shed, and be inspired there. And such sweet gals work there too!

~~~Oh, and just a little more inspiration...Some items from the week (antique store finds & a flower book from Mum ~ just like hers and she recently found one for me! ~ circa 1950 but has much useful info) had been scattered about on the coffee table and I thought, "how lovely & inspiring"...not planned or set up but I just had to photograph...I cannot explain exactly why it was so inspiring to me, but it just really made me want to craft! :)

Fried Goat Cheese Salad

Okay, so anything fried is pretty much usually tasty good…usually. Hubby loves a particular goat cheese salad he occasionally orders at one of our fave restaurants…so when I was smack dab in the middle of working out a week or so ago (inside on a rainy day) and watching Rachel Ray make this Fried Goat Cheese Salad, I knew I had to try making it. Besides, she makes everything look sooo easy and all with her carefree “throw the salt over your shoulder” sort of attitude. And they actually were pretty easy to throw together as well as oh-so-fabulous tasting. By the way, Rachel Ray didn’t give any specific ingredient amounts (at least that I could recall after my workout and a quick jotting down of this recipe from memory) so when I made it, I just winged everything and didn’t measure anything. I also forgot to buy sesame seeds so I substituted finely chopped pistachios (used the food processor to chop pistachios and make the entire breading, really) since this is what the goat cheese salad is actually called that Hubby orders at the restaurant anyhow. I bought a chunk of really good, plain goat cheese that I was able to cut into about 7 quarter-inch slices. Not being a huge fan of goat cheese, I thought I’d give 4 to hubby and 3 to myself…until I saw how wonderfully-delicious they looked and I decided to split the 7th one in half. ;)For the salad I used romaine lettuce, a basic Dijon vinaigrette (with shallots...I love shallots) recipe from the Joy of Cooking cookbook, and topped the salads with green onions and cherry tomatoes too!

Cabinet Transformation

How do you organize all your craft supplies? I want to share with you my “new” craft cabinet and recount a little story behind it. It’s not “new” really; rather it is quite old. Recovered from my husband’s grandparent’s old, vacant home, it sat in our basement for a couple of years until we moved to our new home. Then it sat in our garage for another 6 months or so, until I finally prodded Hubby on to refinish it for me…it would be such a great project for him, no?
When I first spied this cabinet in my in-laws basement, I immediately seized upon the cabinet, recognizing it’s inherent value and the obvious potential it held for organizing some of my various art & craft supplies. These supplies are so often oddly-shaped, small, or flat (such as paper and envelopes) and it can be hard to figure out the best way to organize them all. Truly I love to organize almost anything, so chancing upon this piece of furniture with all those lovely little cubbyholes and slotted compartments was a dream come true.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the foresight at the time to take a “before” picture to show the cabinet’s unseemly state prior to it’s transformation. Therefore, the “before” and “after” comparison will have to take place in your mind. Imagine the cabinet covered in an atrocious shade of yellow paint, somewhat akin to the color of dried up mustard (sorry Grandma…I’m sure that color was very chic at one point in time). It had no door handles, no little feet on the bottom to elevate it off the floor, and very mismatched hinges. Even the hinges couldn’t escape being painted over in this sad state of yellowness.

For the transformation to begin, we first bought an electric hand-held sander to aid in removing most of the paint. I picked out a new paint color (“Seafoam Mist” according to the paint chip) and then spent way too many hours agonizing over hardware. Anthropologie had so many sweet and unique knobs that I could just see adding a much-needed finishing touch to this cabinet. I vacillated between some with a little bird painted on the knob (the “birdwatcher knob”) or the delicate and beautifully-shaped “daisy” glass knob. But when it came down to it, I simply couldn’t bring myself to spend over $20 or so on 2 knobs (including shipping), when I could go to Home Depot and pick out 2, fine & dandy, hexagon-shaped, clear glass knobs for about $7 total. It is just a knob after all. The old, painted hinges required a new set to be purchased and offered me another opportunity to add a touch of style to it. It was a small obstacle in figuring out how to best attach them, since the old hinges used a different method for how they were attached…not to mention the problem of the mismatched hinge sizes, where some required 2 screws and some had 3. We decided to start from scratch with the hinges so Hubby filled in the wood that had been cut out for the old hinges using a sort of "in-lay" method to insert new little chunks of wood and lots of wood putty…then more sanding and more painting to make this area seamless. Finally, the new hinges could be placed on without the frustration of trying to match up to the location of the old hinges.

When the exterior transformation was complete, I cleaned the insides of the cubbies with a wet rag wrapped around a paint stir stick. During this cleaning, I came upon 2 pieces of very old, very fragile paper, wedged into the way back of the cabinet. After many attempts to get them out and high hopes that they might be of some great importance, I finally was able to work them out and find that they looked like some sort of shipping or packing slips. They contained a New York City address and the words “American Railway Express Co.” Hubby promptly took these dirty, ragged pieces of paper to the garbage and I shouted “nooo” just in time as he dangled them above the garbage.
I’ve often wondered who made this little cabinet? What did they use it for? I’ve always been quite curious as to its origins. So, I thought, these pieces of paper may hold some bit of historical information. I’ve imagined taking this cabinet on Antiques Roadshow and having them tell me a great story of it's history, and then of course, chiding me for re-painting it thereby diminishing its value…although I can hardly believe that mustard-y yellow paint was original to it in the first place.

Very recently I had some of my questions and curiosities answered as the story behind this cabinet became a little less fuzzy. Hubby’s Grandma recalls that it was used by her father when he worked for the American Railway Express Co. (which explains the packing slips). According to Wikipedia, the American Railway Express began in 1917 and “was the cargo company of choice in its days”. The cabinet's front doors were actually 1 big door, according to Grandma, who confessed to slicing into 2 (which would also explain the various sized hinges we found). She also then confessed to being the one to paint over it in that yellow color. She said that she has occasionally seen cabinets like this one in antique stores. So perhaps it did hold some value, at one time, before all its layers of paint?

Even with all our “sprucing up” (with new paint, hardware, and feet to elevate it off the floor to add a bit more character) it is still somewhat rugged (notice the uneven front ledge) and holds much charm. In addition to its great storage space inside, the top of it now offers a proper home to a cherished and most necessary crafting object: my little green paper cutter, given to me long, long ago by my Grandma.

It is interesting to finally learn a little more about this cabinet after all this time, to do some online digging using the information on the packing slips (ie: J.H. Butler, Manager, Loss & Damage Department), and to learn a little of how this cabinet came to be in our family’s possession. I simply love it and I'm sure I'll be busy re-organizing things in there again very soon!

Sweet Sweet Moss

Perhaps my eyes have been so captivated by all the mossy features at this time of year since most everything else has been exceptionally slow to sprout & bloom. Shades of bold green moss pop out against the pale background that is spring in this region. It just can’t help but be noticed. This carpet of green covers rocks and tree stumps, defining their shapes and dressing up the woods with it's beauty. I’m discovering I've quite an affinity for moss and all it's many variations. In fact, I think I'm becoming almost as intrigued with moss as I've been with mushrooms. In the picture above, those little red sprouts growing out of the moss are really only a half inch tall at most, yet viewed up close, they present such an interesting sight of cheery-ness and dainty-ness. I think they are just too cute, tinged at the end with a touch of green. Is it possible for moss to be described as "sweet"? If so, I think this is the perfect specimen for "sweet" moss.

Hubby and I went walking through the woods yesterday evening. My head was down to the ground looking at moss and mushrooms. His eyes looked up to the sky, spotting the migrating warblers. I kept saying "look down at this pretty moss"…and then he’d say "look up at this yellow warbler." Good thing we compliment each other so well in order to draw our sight both up and down to see the wonders of all creation.

I was so inspired by the moss, that I just had to use a little as the backdrop to some new goodies I've finally found time to post in my Etsy shop. More good things to come there too!

The Dilemma

I just opened my Photoshop program this morning and it told me there are only 3 more days left of my trial. Just 3 days!!! I’m loving Photoshop, learning new things, and I think, quite possibly, just barely scratching the surface of all its capabilities. You see, I’m very new to Photoshop, new to blogging, new to Etsy...so many new things that its overwhelming and exciting! I’ve come across so many intriguing blogs and inspiring new artists through Etsy and elsewhere online. Which leads to my dilemma: I’m finding that lately I’m spending far more time at my computer desk than my craft desk. I’m feeling much creative frustration as my hands are yearning to get back to work with paper, scissors, and glue, and to bring to fruition the ideas swirling ‘round my head and my sketchbook for new “LillyBonBon-ish” creations. I’ve posted many things on Etsy, and then turned around to take it off soon after to supply the couple of stores I’m in. I just haven’t quite figured out how to manage it all yet.

Another twist on this dilemma was the recent influx of birthday, graduation, mother’s day, and thank you cards needing to be made. To compound that, I decided to knit both my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law each two dishcloths for mother’s day presents. They were then tied up with ribbon and topped off with little card tags that I made in (where else but) Photoshop. I used vintage cards featuring adorable little birdies, altered them a bit, and added some new text including the following message that said, “To make your dishwashing chores a bit more colorful ~ handknit dishcloths~”.

Lest you be feeling sorry for my own mother at this point, rest assured she is kept well-stocked with these handy, durable dishcloths by my aunt…my knitting teacher and the sharer of this dishcloth pattern. I’ve only made 5 in my entire knitting lifespan (which has only been about 2 years or so now) and the first one I made is too precious for me to use…yet. My knitting has slowly expanded to include other things like a little pouch for my tiny digital camera, a hat, and several scarves. I’m not the fastest knitter yet so I’m quite sentimental about each item I make. I’ve come across people selling similar-looking knitted dishcloths on Etsy and I’m amazed at what they are selling them for since they take a near eternity for me to produce just one…well, I’m exaggerating a wee bit, I guess, and I have in truth become slightly quicker over time.

Well, I’m digressing now and getting off-topic. The dilemma today is whether to use my Photoshop trial to its fullest (since I’m not quite sure when we’ll actually buy it), or to get back to my first love…paper and scissors? Oh, there are just not enough hours in the day!

A Few Gems...

Whew! I just had a jam-packed crazy busy yet very fulfilling past few days. It began on Saturday with a day-trip visit from a few family members (on hubby’s side) to see our "still somewhat new" home and spend the day out and about together. Here is a sweet, house-warming gift they gave to us…something so much like a birdbath I would have chosen for myself! Aren’t those the best kinds of gifts? It was also very appropriate since our pedestal birdbath last summer decided to fall apart on itself…literally rusting through the post and toppling over unexpectedly when hubby went to move it to mow the lawn, although this was a fact they weren’t aware of when they gave us this most generous gift.

The next few days were spent on a business trip (for hubby) combined with lots of family/friend time for us as well, but moreso for me:

~ A dinner out with my grandma and parents one night. (Below was a belated bday gift from Mum & Dad...a lovely little garden fairy sitting atop a patch of mushrooms...isn't she cute?)

~Stops by my siblings’ homes to say hello. (Below is a sweet pincushion from my bro and sis-in-law...she got on Etsy at Chet and Dot...how neat is that? And below that, a handmade birthday card from sister and fam. So sweet!)

~A visit to my aunt’s home to view some of her latest amazing wire sculpture artwork. Wow... I'm inspired!

~A shopping trip with hubby to search for new work shoes for him (mission accomplished), followed by a delicious dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Muffuletta (below).

~Precious time on walks with my mum and seeing the beginnings of her garden, just coming into its Spring glory. (Below is her "bloodroot," I think?)

~A quick jaunt to a fave crafting store to seek out new supplies (visits to this store are now few & far between since our move so I really do relish the time when I'm able to go…I found a favorite colored cardstock called “Thai Gold” that I’d been searching for…and 100% jute twine, perfect for tying on LillyBonBon tags!)

~Wonderful time spent with a dear friend (and Mum too) over lunch and celebrating our April birthdays together. (Here is one of her gifts to me...an antique, bamboo-patterned cup and saucer…so dainty and unique!)
There’s something about birthdays as you get older where they seem to be carried out longer and celebrated more sporadically, sprinkled with a day here & there of birthday joy and well wishes as time, distance, and life permits you to gather with family and friends. I was so happy for this time over the past few days, only wishing the time spent with each person could be much, much longer!

Slice and Bake

For the past few days I’ve been craving a good cookie. This is not an unusual craving of mine. I like a good cookie. A chewy, homemade cookie is what this craving calls for. Usually your basic Chocolate Chip Cookie will suffice. Or when I’m feeling a little more ambitious, a White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie does the trick. However, last night I opted for the oh-so-simple Sugar Cookie. It is one of the simplest recipes I know of and using the “slice and bake” method speeds things up to even more quickly unite my mouth with a delicious treat.
I first tried this particular sugar cookie recipe last winter at Christmas-time when I saw it in a magazine, but I think it’s a delightful cookie any time of the year. The recipe is available online here if you’d like to judge for yourself.