Sweet & Simple {felt flower bobby pins}

Hello there!

Well, as mentioned in my previous post, I crafted these simple bobby pins for some sweet little ladies whose 6th birthday party we attended last weekend. Constructed simply of wool felt, thread, and plain bobby pins, they couldn't be any easier. At the last minute, I decided to add some of my vintage buttons onto the flowers for a little more, little girl cuteness.
The flowers were fashioned using a method I'd seen in MS Living's August 09 issue. These instructions were really intended for using the flowers to embellish store-bought pillows. And the flowers were made of ultrasuede fabric and had just 4 petals, not 5. But I thought they were cute and could be adapted just as easily with a nice wool felt for embellishing most anything. You simply knot the end of thread and sew a running stitch through the petals. Pull the thread to gather the petals and knot the thread on that end. Then, sew the last and first petals together to form a flower.
I punched 2 holes into an adorable owl, cardstock-weight paper to hold the bobby pins and slipped these cards into plain white pillow envelopes. Now I'm thinking I'll have to make some version of fancy felt flower bobby pins for myself...they'd be perfect for Fall! And it is officially feeling like Fall here...windy, chilly, sweater weather, golden crinkly leaves swirling round...bright blue skies one moment, gray and imposing the next. And I bought a new, cozy wool skirt the other night. Yep, it's really Fall. Brr! Hope you're staying cozy, wherever you are! :)

Fading Garden...

Today I went out in the late afternoon sun and took some snapshots of my sun-dappled, fading garden in the woods. It gradually expanded over the summer with a little, U-shaped stone path sweeping through it. And I've gradually added to it here and there. Adding more rocks that I unearthed. Adding more plants...some bought from the nearby nursery, some from Mum. And next year it will be even more glorious...in my mind anyways...now that I have a little more knowledge about what I'm doing. I tend to it almost every morning, pulling back the fallen leaves from around my plants. Picking off slugs. I won't even tell you how many I've, um, destroyed...through, uh...let's just say, various methods. My tiny garden in the woods is my little sanctuary though. And in futility, as I try to keep it free of the fallen leaves, Hub gently laughs...because another leaf swiftly falls to take its place. I know it's a losing battle in the end. But I'm holding on for as long as I can...trying to maintain it. Perhaps that's why I felt compelled to capture it in a bunch of photos today...to look back on in the wintertime and tide me over on the bleakest and whitest of long winter days.

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P.S. The first photo is in "soft focus"...I was messing around with it in Photoshop...so that's why it looks a bit blurry, but I thought it also made it look a little magical!

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P.P.S. Hub and I are heading to a little birthday party this weekend for some sweet nieces...and I did a little bit of craftyness for them...I'll share next week, hopefully!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Red.White.Black.

I've been working on some new votives lately, including a custom order one for a gal who's mother used to own a shop with the word "ladybug" in it. Yesterday, with all of my tiny handcut ladybugs lined up on my desk, I was distracted by color and decided to take a mini-break (and give my scissor hands a rest!). I grabbed all the little things around me that I saw were in the colors of red and black. I have tons of things on my desk in shades of green, pink, and brown...so finding red & black was a bit more challenging. And then I tried my hand at a very hasty, impromptu (not to mention poorly lit) photo of this color compilation. I've seen these lovely photographs on blogs (or Etsy?) in the past where the artist has compiled various things/trinkets/misc... in just one shade (I think?) and then takes a photo of it (but I can't remember who or where?). Anyway, I always thought I'd like to try it sometime with my own trinkets...I guess because I delight in all the simple little things and it just looks cool when they're all organized by color. I really like organization too. ;) So like I said, mine was hasty and poorly photographed and sometime I'd like to try to do a better one...but here's my first attempt, as well as my new Ladybug Luminary papercut votive. I love how this one turned out. Ladybugs really are kinda cute and have since grown on me. Even at this time of year, when I'm pretty much ready for all bugs and slugs and other such garden critters to vanish until next year.

Garden Tomato Soup {Hello Fall}

It seems only fitting that after weeks of sunny days and warm temps, that today, the first official day of Fall, should descend upon us with foggy, drizzly, gray skies. The last couple weeks have been a flurry of activity around here (hence my spotty blogging) and an abundance homegrown produce...namely tomatoes!

So say you have a lot of tomatoes on hand... And say you've already made salsa, bruschetta, your favorite cherry tomato pasta dish and more with them. If you're like me then you may consider enjoying some of the season's freshest tomatoes in another format: a creamy and savory, chunky garden tomato soup!

My recipe is always very improvised and unmeasured. I start by sauteing some carrots, celery, onion, and garlic (all roughly chopped) in a little olive oil and a bit of butter. While that's cooking, I chop up a bunch of tomatoes. When the veggies have sauteed about 10 minutes, I add in the tomatoes and broth. (This time I used 2 cans of Swansons Vegetable broth...but chicken broth works good too.) Add in the seasonings (salt, pepper) and herbs (fresh basil, parsley...) and one bay leaf. I really think bay leaves are the magic ingredient to a great soup. I used to mistakenly leave them out and underestimate their necessity whenever a recipe called for them simply because I didn't have any. But a couple years ago I bought some and a whole new cooking world opened up for me! They give soup that extra little something that just makes it! So don't skip them! Okay, so back to the soup...let it simmer for about 20 minutes or so...then stir in a little heavy whipping cream. Enjoy with some rustic crackers & cheese or bread! It's so simple, and I'm pretty sure its rather healthy too with all those veggies, don't you think?

Now, does anyone have any good suggestions for what to do with a zucchini?

Happy Fall!

Summer-like September...

The beginning of September has felt more like summer here than all of well...summer. We've had warm temps, gloriously bright sunshine, and we ran the AC all weekend long due to the uncomfortably muggy air...which is far more than we did all of summer combined. My mum & dad came for a visit on Saturday and I made my good old perennial favorite recipe of Chicken Oriental Salad...per mum's request. It's so easy and fresh! I make my own sesame dressing using 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 + 2 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 + 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, and a few pinches of salt, pepper, and ginger along with a good healthy dose of sesame seeds! For the first time ever I decided to buy a head of both green and red cabbage rather than grabbing a bag of the pre-cut shredded cabbage mix. It was cheaper, tastier, and so much more satisfying to chop up thin, ribbony fresh strands of cabbage. Why haven't I done this before? And it looked so pretty too. I added some freshly grated carrots and I'm pretty sure it was 100 percent better than the bagged stuff. {Sidenote...Those white salad tong things (above) are the best thing ever if you can find them. My sister-in-law recently gave them to us and they work oh so well for tossing a salad and ensuring it is fully coated with dressing or vinaigrette. As one who makes a lot of salads, they are the best thing I've ever used! They're called Extra Hands and I'm pretty sure she said she found them at Good Things (for you Twin Cities folk).}

After lunch, we took the folks on a little hike to the nearby creek. There was beautiful lavendar-colored Bee Balm everywhere, contrasting against a plethora of lovely yellow Common Tansy.

And on the way back, a couple friendly chickens came to greet us...hoping we'd give them some food no doubt.

On Sunday, we crossed over the bridge and into Wisconsin to go golfing at a new (to us) course. The bridge was shrouded in a hazy fog coming up from Lake Superior below...I think they call this "sea smoke." It made for an interesting sight, though, as we drove from on top of the sunny hill where we live, seeing the dense fog from above, and then descending into it. This isn't really an uncommon occurrence here but the view always delights me!

While golfing, I came upon some really neat Fall mushrooms...like this trio of big, buttercreamy-colored ones.

This one was practically the size of my hand!

And here's Hub, patiently waiting for me. I really should've been focused on my golf game...as I need all the help I can get! But this was the first time I brought my camera with in my golf bag so I had to take just a few photos. But after this 2nd hole, I stowed my camera away for the rest of the game. What self-control, oui?! ;) After our hot and sticky game, we came home and made our summer standby of delicious taco salads...but this time featuring Hub's homemade tomato salsa. Mum & Dad were kind enough to bring us a bunch of their tomatoes and we just picked a couple of our own too! Don't you just love this time of year when fresh, local produce abounds?

Autumnal Cake Toppers {new shop things}

Do you recall those nighttime studio pics from a few weeks ago...photos of things I was working on? Well, I thought it only right to follow-up here with a few finished photos of them, finally...which are now in the shop too!

Above are my "Nutmeg Love Birds"...see more photos right here. I love how they turned out, but like a lot of things, I think they are much more enchanting in person than my camera could capture. Oh well. And remember that first mummy-like photo I posted of a deer in the works? Well, he eventually found himself next to a sweetheart gal deer. Oh Deer! See more photos of this cute couple below and right here.

Notice his fuzzy, flocked antlers?

I was so happy about these new deer sculptures and how they turned out that I'm thinking of doing just a few limited deer sculptures for the shop for the (eek!) upcoming holiday season...you know, for those folks not necessarily in the market for a wedding cake topper, but would love a one-of-a-kind, handmade deer standing amidst their other holiday decor finery. And also just because deer are so sweet, oui?

So I told you last year about my secret (or perhaps not-so-secret as I just found out from my cousin that she has a bunch of this stuff from when she purchased a lot of rubber stamp products) discovery of crushed velvet or "flock". I only bought the "bon bon" brown color above and commented about how appropriate the color name was for me...(LillyBonBon, right?) Okay...sooo, I went and bought the white color just the other day thinking I would use it to do some wintery-white, albino-ish deer with white flocked antlers. It wasn't until I got home and really had a moment to open the package that I noticed the name they gave to this color flock was "lily". Okay, so it isn't spelled exactly as I spell it...but, it's still just rather odd or coincidental, and...kinda neat! :)

More Soon! ~L

One Pink Poppy

I had a rather busy day today. A new haircut. With bangs! Brilliant coppery, golden highlights for Fall. It feels so refreshing. Ran errands. Picked up groceries. Skipped lunch and opted for a vanilla coffee cooler and a fresh cinnamon donut hole always set out in a big red bowl at my favorite market. I'm always glad to know I can count on that little complimentary donut hole when life gets busy, ya know? Popped into a favorite craft store to pick up a few supplies. Chatted long and good with a dear cousin friend of mine. Made my special Broccoli Carrot Swiss Cheese Bake to go along with dinner...deli meat on toasted ciabatta rolls. Did some laundry. A little artwork squeezed in here and there. You know, all the usual good, though mostly monotonous, stuff.Oh, and I walked to the mailbox to grab the mail too. On my way there, I glanced over at my little garden in the woods and was surprised to find that my Poppy finally bloomed today, leaning gently against my garden gnome for support! I was beyond thrilled! I was tempted to run down my road and gather all the neighbors! (Not really but you get the point.)

Part of me didn't really think this day would ever come. I've been a very patient girl you see. I've waited a long, long time for this...all the while making innocuous threats to the air against any such critter (ie: slug, deer, rabbit, mystery bug, etc...) that dare touch my special Poppy.

I planted some Poppy seeds way back in March (remember?). Only one seed/plant made it. I had other setbacks along the way to growing this one little Poppy plant too. I won't go into all the details but understand that I'm learning full well all the frustrations of being a gardener. And savoring the small victories as well. Like when you finally (in September!) get your very first Poppy plant to flower. Now, I thought for some reason that these were supposed to be red Poppies, but to my delight it was the prettiest shade of pink, almost a raspberry pink. The petals appear to be made of whispery thin crepe paper. And it also looked as though my little gnome was smoking it right out of his pipe!

Oh, and I have a couple more blooms still to come! See... Aren't the flower buds peculiar?I've learned quite a bit about gardening this Summer. Mostly by trial and error. And I almost can't wait for next year already. So I can plant lots of these seeds, directly into the soil of my new garden. And hopefully have oodles of this pretty flower to enjoy. But for now I'll savor this precious one!

Avocado & Gold {vintage finds}

I love going into new antique stores, especially while away in the country at the cabin. Of course some are more tourist-y with prices to match, but occassionally I find some real gems. And that always makes the hunt worthwhile. This past trip to the cabin was just long enough that it allowed us to head into some of the little towns one day to check out a few antique stores. My hub is so sweet that he indulges me in this...as we poke about the shops together, looking at mostly old junk from the past. While I didn't find anything special in the first 2 shops we went into, I did have some luck in the 3rd and final shop. Unfortunately this shop is closing, but fortunately for me everything was 60% off so I got some really lovely deals!

1~Three little butter pats with a pretty gold edging design. I love these tiny plates because they are so useful for many things other than, well, butter! They'd make great low dipping bowls for olive oil & balsamic, a favorite combo of ours for dipping crusty bread into. Or they'd be pretty with a candle upon each one. In this photo, they're corralling a few dried wildflower seed pods I gathered while at the cabin. I thought these would be nice for crafting with, oui?

2~This was my most exciting find...the neatest avocado green desklamp, in great condition! It works well and is so cute! I love the retro design and thought it would be nice on my little studio desk.

3~Little old deer...I always grab up old deer whenever I see them because you just can't find anything like them nowadays. Their rustic condition with paint fading makes them even more endearing. Of course they're cute at Christmas-time, but I keep them out in little spots year-round as a nod to the very populated deer-country we live in and simply because they are just too sweet. Also, I just had to get the one with the red bow, "Rudolph", because my mum has one just like it from when she was a little girl. She puts it out each year at Christmas and now this will remind me of her and my old home!

4~Finally, a stack of vintage seambinding and rick rack, because really, a girl can never have too much ribbon and trim on hand, right? The top seambinding in this photo is stamped "avocado" for the color and that made me realize that everything I purchased was avocado-ish and gold-ish...perfect colors for Fall...and for some reason that color cohesiveness of my finds made me happy. I know, I'm a bit strange! Thanks for indulging me while I shared my goodies.

Wishing you a marvelous weekend!

~xoxo~