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DIY: Lantern Light
I have many candle lanterns and recently when I needed a light for my bedroom I decided to repurpose a lantern into an awesome light. I loved the result so much I decided to share it. I did my first ever DIY on creating a chandelier of mason jars. You can view it HERE. This light was similarly wired only I left much less space between the bulbs. The wire lengths are 4, 6, and 8 inches connecting the bulbs to the main wire. For a much simpler version you can find a slightly smaller lantern and purchase this single free hanging lighting kit. Simply open the door to the…
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DIY: Faux Terrarium
I have moved most of my things into my bedroom now. It is so interesting to have only one room to really decorate. It makes me care that much more about the decor in that one room. I no longer live in the woods and I wanted to have a reminder of my five years living in the Sequoia National Forrest. I made a little non-living terrarium and it brings just enough of the woods into my decor. I took lichen that I collected from my old home and mixed it with pinecones inside a beautiful garden box I found at Home Goods. I added a little wooden mushroom,…
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Color Work Knitting
New home, lots of things happening in my life. Too many to talk about right now. One cool thing is I have been working on color work, for a special project. Because of the nature of the project I can’t show an image of the color work pattern. I can show an image of the back though which makes it look very impressive. Here is an image of another VERY SIMPLE color work pattern I have been working on. Color work is not difficult if you start out simple. This green is Ginko Sock by Skein Yarn. I first started color work with my stripes head wrap pattern. You…
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The Girl Who Makes Everything
So I am packing up my house, box by box. I have had to prioritize my belongings because we will be moving to a much smaller living space. The hardest yet to sort? My yarn! I love it all but some of it has to go. The funniest part of pulling all my stuff out is I realized exactly how much yarn I have. More specifically how much Skein Yarn I have. After staring at the pile of beautifully hand dyed fibers I thought…they deserve a photo shoot…and what the heck, SO DO I! So you can see just how addicted I am to these yarns. Well this might just…
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To Keep or Not to Keep
So big news in my life…I am moving. I have lived in the mountains for the last five years, that consists of most of my married life and all of my kids lives. Transition is hard but if you let it can allow for a lot of organizing and cleaning out of both thoughts and posessions. In my case I am attempting to organize my art/crafting supplies. It has forced me to look back at things I have created in the past. It is amazing to look back and see past things you have created to see your own growth or the change in trends. In my case I am…
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Finding Vintage Fabric on a Budget
I wish I had the money to get yards and yards of great fabric from my local fabric shop. Lace also is something I would love to buy but it can be so expensive. Here is my secret. Sheets! I find the best fabric by buying sheets and curtains from thrift stores. There are some wonderful prints and you get lots of yardage for 1-5 dollars. Here are a couple of pictures of some fabric I have acquired in this way. I absolutely love the butterfly fabric. I am planning on making this into something for my daughters bed…maybe a canopy. Another thing you can find at thrift…
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Tea and a Simple Life
I have had a lot on my mind during this the first month of 2012. One thing I have been thinking about is simplifying. I am ready to make some changes. Isn’t leaving a simpler life a hugs aspect of what art and creativity are all about? Artists are those who stop facing the grind of life and experience the emotions and watch and see what the rest of the world is too busy to see. I already live a pretty simple life, there is no cell phone reception where I live and I am two hours away from any kind of shopping experience. The things that I am wanting…
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Handwritten Letters
I have started hand writing letters in an attempt to create some authenticity in my communication with my friends. I have been growing increasingly tired of the flat and impersonal form of communication. Email and facebook and all other forms of electronic communication lack something that the hand written word expresses. I have been using sketch paper and folding it in slightly complex ways allows me to sketch in my letters. It also resembles the old fashioned letter writing of Jane Austen’s time. As an extra fun addition to my letters I used this wax seal kit my sister got me from Venice, Italy. It has a monogram M that…
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Tea and Knitting
Looking back at my recent posts I have done a lot of DIY recently, and I have not said a word about knitting. I have been working on a few projects. I have been drinking tea in the afternoons lately as I knit. I have a small collection of tea cups. I cycle them out daily, it is so lovely to drink tea out of a beautiful china cup. This one is a Windsor Bone China cup that I found at a thrift store. I will be taking pictures of the other cups as I use them. As for my knitting projects… I finished my smocking hat and am prepping…
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DIY: Hanging Mint Garden
One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was from my friend Allyson. These tea light hangers are such a great purchase and work really well as hanging terrariums. I have recently had a love of mint plants. They are so hearty and I adore anything that you can grow from a cutting…it increases my chances of keeping them alive. Here is a quick tutorial on how to make a hanging terrarium. 1. Purchase this tea light hanger from CB2 or find one that is very similar. 2. Take a cutting of mint that has some roots attached to it. You can take a cutting of mint and put it…
