At The Front Door: Wildflowers & Jack O' Lantern

I’m not really into Halloween. I particularly dislike haunted houses (or a haunted “ship” as my city is known for promoting each & every fall). I don't enjoy scary movies. I run from spiders great and small. And while we're at it, roller coasters are really not my favorite thing either.

Although I do have the fondest memories of dressing up and trick-or-treating with my siblings early on and later on with friends too...the sweet, carefree innocence of that time was likely the part of Halloween I enjoyed most. I also have sweet memories of pumpkin-carving on the floor of my parent’s three-season porch, next to a roaring fire in the wood burning stove. So even though I don’t buy into the whole notion of the Halloween holiday and the darker, more sinister side of things, I do love to carry on the traditional pumpkin-carving, seed-roasting, and just generally enjoying the autumn season altogether.

Yesterday, getting into the autumn spirit on such a sunshiny-warm day, I drew upon my inner “florist” and gathered up the prettiest, dried up wildflowers from around my yard. Some wildflowers had gone to seed and were soft bursts of creamy fluff. Others were sprigs of chocolate-y brown buttons, formerly colorful flowers suddenly bitten by frost. I also spied some gorgeous red berries, perfect for adding a pop of color. I tucked them all into this old watering can along with birch logs from a previously chopped up tree.

I noticed while outside making my humble “autumn arrangement” yesterday that due (most likely) to the unusually warm weather, there seemed to be an abnormal amount of black flies and lady bugs buzzing about. And their overabundance (an overabundance of anything really, like Birds ala Alfred Hitchcock) is just plain creepy enough for me!

.....

P.S. Hub & I jointly carved a pumpkin together last night...he designed it and cut out the "lid" and I ended up doing the rest of the work...scooping out goop and cutting the design...we ended up doing an owl's head but it really isn't all that photo-worthy...so now I'm off to roast the pumpkin seeds that were drying overnight!

(Tips for roasting your own pumpkin seeds can be found at the very bottom of this previous post.)

Crafting by Day, Enjoying that Night

Craftista. That is my little xbox screen name I came up with for the few times I’ve played with Hub (remember this post?)... Well, I haven’t been feeling very much like a "craftista" lately…whatever that is exactly. I have some well-intentioned projects lying around, but I just don’t have the spunk in me lately to finish them. I also have some new ideas up my sleeves…yet again, no motivation to get started on them.
This is where A Field Journal comes in. Since my creative juices are not quite flowing very smoothly, how timely it was for me to follow someone else’s craftiness…especially that which is such a simple yet lovely craft tutorial as found on Livy’s blog. Simple enough to whip up in the afternoon and hang for enjoyment later that night. Have you visited A Field Journal yet? It’s definitely one of my favorite online places to visit. In a sea of so many crafty/artsy/design blogs, where I often get overwhelmed & overloaded with new things to love, to admire, to inspire…this blog is a true gem and particularly refreshing to me. Each post seems so thoughtful and the presentation is beautiful. It is a pure delight to the eyes and the simple, beautiful photos and words really resonate with me.
So I gave Livy’s latest tutorial “Paper Leaf Garland” a try and as her post claims “the simplest craft. ever”…I think she just may be right. Since this project was all about paper cutting, something I’m totally for, I was easily hooked.
While cutting around the folded leaves, the faintest memories surfaced of making paper doll chains as a little girl using basic white paper in this same fashion. This was long before the existence of craft stores like Archiver’s and others that are filled to the brim with pretty patterned papers and every other little embellishment under the sun. So while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with craft stores filled to the brim with fun things and other lovely blogs filled to the brim with wonderful things, it’s sometimes just nice to keep things simple, to de-clutter your mind, and to complete a project that only calls for white paper (check, I have that), scissors (yep), and glue (definitely). So here are a few snapshots of the one project that I have completed lately.
Thanks for sharing, Livy!

mums are the best

It’s a dark & dreary day here today. And I'm blaming the weather on my dark & dreary pics too. Sorry. This is the little vintage “find” that Mum bought for me when we were out antiquing last Friday. It’s not really a “find” because we’ve “found” it a few times in the past whenever we went into this particular antique shop where nothing ever seems to change. I always picked it up and thought about buying it, yet never pulled the trigger. I can be so indecisive at times. So when Mum saw it again this last time…she said very definitively, “I’m buying this for you!” and that was that. Don't you love the little squirrel peaking out?

What are your plans for the weekend? We’re having our favorite Chatty Clan up for a visit tomorrow. I've got muffins to make, toys to find, and a bit of last-minute cleaning to do! Hope the weather will be less dreary tomorrow so we can have some outdoor adventures. Hope you have a nice weekend too!

P.S. A tiny bit personal, but in the "squirrel" theme, here's a little sketch I sent to Hub yesterday while he was at work as a little e-love note..."I like your tail..." I'm not sure what that means as far as love notes go but I thought it sounded sweet! :)

Chilly Hats & Hot Popovers...

...and a kind blogger too!
Or I could just title this post "Lots of Links." So here goes:

Yesterday I realized its really that time of year now, when I find myself returning from chilly & blustery, late afternoon walks with a hat on my head that often does not get removed until long after the dinner dishes have been washed. It’s this odd little habit I got into last winter here in our new home in the "arctic." I’m slightly teasing. We’re really only 2 hours further north by car than our previous home, but it does seem to be quite a climate change at times.

This reminds me of the last Anthro catalogue I received a few weeks back. I was more taken with the moss-covered, Icelandic scenery than the apparel. Although I’m quite smitten with this Margeaux Hat too. Hub says I could learn to knit something like it. I think not. I stick to very simple knitting patterns. And I proved my point this past weekend when I attempted to follow a pattern for knitting socks. I got hung up on the whole “knitting in the round” thing. And since I have this beautiful blue merino wool yarn, I really do not want to waste it on a failed project! I think its time for another knitting lesson from my knitting-guru of an Aunt. (By the way, you can find more beautiful yarn like this here on Etsy too.)

Also last weekend, we had my mum & pop over (or “up” rather) for a lovely visit full of food, crafting (just me & mum of course), a little antiquing, & a gorgeous fall hike. I made popovers to go with our dinner on Friday night, and my dad, the ultimate pun-ster, loved the “popover” play on words. While on the phone with my sister the other day, I mentioned to her that I’ve been making popovers left & right lately and she said she’d never made them before and to put them on my blog…so just for you, Sis, here’s the recipe (below) that I’ve been using lately. They’re just about the easiest thing to make and taste just as good with butter alone or jam for a bit of sweetness. The key to their success is a very liberally buttered pan. And technically you’re supposed to use a popover pan, but as I’m often doing in the kitchen, I improvise and use a large muffin pan which I find does the job too. Just be sure to eat them up as soon as you can once you pop them out of the oven before they begin to deflate...although truly they taste just as good deflated too!

Popovers (from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook)
unsalted butter, room temp, for pan
1 ½ cups milk
6 large eggs
1 ½ cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with a rack in the lower third. Generously butter a 12 cup popover tin. Whisk together milk & eggs. Add the flour, salt, and sugar, and whisk until mixture is the consistency of heavy cream with some small lumps remaining. Do not overmix!

Fill each cup with about 5 tablespoons of batter. Bake until the popovers are very puffed up and extend over the top of the tin by about 3 inches, about 30 minutes. Immediately invert pan to remove popovers, and serve.

(***One little note...I half this recipe since I have just 1 jumbo sized muffin pan.)

And finally, last but certainly not least...OH MY, if I didn’t have the biggest smile on my face this morning when I went to visit one of my favorite blogs, The Constant Gatherer. I’m so often inspired and clued in to new artists through Katie’s insightful blog. Plus, I simply adore her artwork...like this fabulous wreath, one of my favorites...and this recently listed Purdy Bird Yarn wreath is just the sweetest! And I also love to see what new things she’s making. So I was quite the surprised one when I saw she did THE sweetest little write-up on my LillyBonBon shop & blog. Thanks a bunch, Katie! You’re the best! :)

Raking Up Specimens

So by now you’ve probably come to realize I’m a total nut when it comes to mushrooms. They fascinate me. Especially at this time of year when they are so plentiful. But did you also know I’m fascinated by the backside of decaying leaves? Neither did I. But this one caught my eye yesterday. The tiny veins of this leaf seemed to section off blocks of colors and so captivated me.

And of course, nothing makes raking more enjoyable than finding a collection of varied mushrooms sprinkled throughout the yard.
And yes, as predicted yesterday, my back is a little sore. And my shoulders and arms too. Oh, and I have a blister on my thumb to boot.

But other than that I’m fine and ready to enjoy the weekend!
Hope you all have a lovely weekend! :)

Caramel & Gorillas

It's been a long time since I’ve had creamy caramel drizzled upon an apple. But yesterday, I had the not-so-unfortunate conundrum of having heaps of leftover melted caramel after making these delicious Cashew-Caramel Cookies. Luckily we happened to have a few crisp, tart Cortland apples left from our Apple Orchard trip upon which to do some drizzling. Hub and I indulged ourselves in way too much caramel-y goodness yesterday. (And with this sugar overload I also had a little too much energy to talk back at the TV last night while debate-watching…)
Speaking of caramel (sort of)…I recently stumbled upon a wonderful little Etsy shop, Caramelos, full of sweet crafty things like flocked deer, petite sisal trees, vintage spun cotton mushrooms, and all sorts of trims & ribbons. Just the other day I received my little brown mushrooms in the mail from her. What a delight!
Finally, on a totally different note, why is it that I never happen to have my camera with me when I need it? Like yesterday. I absolutely needed it when while driving home (after picking Hub up from work) we spotted 2 men (or women?) in full gorilla suits, both driving bright red motorcycles, and wearing bright red tutus. And just as we were heading down the on-ramp, away from them, we happened to see them get pulled over by the police. Perhaps its not good to drive while wearing a gorilla suit. Maybe it impairs your vision? Or maybe it distracts other drivers, like myself. This sounds like a dream, but its seriously true. Wish I had my camera to prove it. It was such a funny sight.

Happy Thursday! Off to get another sore back and shoulders as I rake mountains of crinkly, golden leaves now.

P.S. Dad, I know how much you love nuts. So we'll try to save some cookies for when you & Mum come to visit this weekend. ;)

Fairy Cupcake Toppers

Recently, my sister-in-law requested some fairy & mushroom cupcake toppers for my twin nieces’ 5th birthday party as she was having a “woodland fairy” theme. Mushrooms I could handle, but fairies...wellll, I had never attempted making any human-like sculptures…just mushrooms & owls up to this point. I think she had far more faith in my abilities than I did, but it sounded like a fun challenge and I happily, if not hesitantly, agreed to give fairy-making a shot.

My first fairy attempt was a total flop. Hub said it looked like a bumblebee. My next two fairies turned out just a wee bit better. The green fairy has a cute button nose and a big waist, while the blue fairy has a big nose and small waist. This was unintentional, but like people we all have our better features, right? (At least that’s how I consoled myself with regard to their inconsistencies.)

The fairy bodies and heads were made using my standard sculpture-making method of packing peanuts and wire, then covering it paper mache style (as previously seen here). Then I had to get a little more creative using different materials and embellishments to create wings, tutus, hair, and flowery caps. Below are a few notes on the methods and materials used.

I think possibly I know what you’re thinking now…but they don’t have any arms!?! Sure I realized this, but I had to know when to draw the line. I thought about adding some tiny chenille pipe cleaner arms and elaborating more on their faces, but I thought it best to keep them simpler, minimalist. Sometimes things can get too done up, too many different materials and things going on where it can start to look a bit crazy and mishmash. Know what I mean? Or maybe these do look a bit crazy! Either way, these little fairy gals kind of grew on me as I was making them and I’m so glad they were sent off to top my sweet nieces’ cupcakes at their party this past weekend. What an honor! I only wish I could have been there to celebrate with them!

Happy (belated) Birthday, girls! ~xo~ Auntie L

An Autumnal Picnic

Yesterday, I packed a picnic dinner and swept Hub away to the nearby Enger Tower to eat chicken salad sandwiches on a big rock overlooking the whole city. We live so close and yet we don't do this often enough. The day was gorgeous, a perfect autumn day, and I said to Hub that we had to cherish all the good days that we can. I should mention that the past 5 or so days have been completely dreary, rain-soaked, with barely a peep of sunshine at all. My wellies, going on their 3rd season, are already being put to good use again. So perhaps this monotonous, gloomy weather was really what prompted my need to eat outside, take in fresh air, and feel the warmth of the autumn sun soaking into my back as we viewed our little city from above with 2 bald eagles soaring overhead, I think eyeing up my delicious chicken salad. I do make some mean chicken salad, at least I think so. ;)

After dinner, we hiked around a bit and unexpectedly found the mother load of mushrooms trail. Big, plump, mushrooms in every shade of orange and brown everywhere we looked. I was in mushroom heaven snapping shots left and right...along with a few other specimens of nature. Unfortunately though, I didn’t have much photo success yesterday. But I will share with you the few that were not blurry or dark or just plain not good. So here’s my little photo essay of our "Autumnal Picnic & Unexpected Mushroom Hike" with descriptions below:

1~Enger Tower, illuminated by the setting sun

2~Wild Asparagus, gone to seed and very pretty red seeds at that

3~A close-up encounter with a spiky type of moss

4~Toadstool, freshly plucked from the earth (a simple, satisfying act, no?)

5~Short & stocky mushroom, with tiny spider on its stem

6~Find Hub in the forest ;)

7~Spiky Pinecone Stash, clustered & buried in the earth by some critter, perhaps?

8~Mushroom duo with pretty, ruffly ring around the stems