A Closer Look at Ottoman

Some Kitsch for the Studio

I haven't been able to work on my to-be studio lately, but I did hang up a unicorn plaque that I had when I was a child (I loved unicorns); I decided it was too kitsch to give away (I've been doing a lot of donating so I can make room for my studio). The plaque is covered in teeny glass beads and I love all the little woodland creatures on it: a raccoon, a hummingbird, a squirrel, a dragonfly, a fawn, a frog, a rabbit, a turtle, and an owl!

I guess I need to straighten it a bit.

You can see the glass beads a little better here and my favorite - the squirrel!

Lichen Lavender Sachet 1

So, I've finished Lichen Lavender Sachet 1, and I plan on listing it today. I decided to embroider two colors onto it and I like how it looks; so, I'll have to experiment with that more. Here's a look:

Another Use for that Unsweetened Coconut

Recently, my friend Zara was eating plain yogurt with an orange cut up on top. It sounded pretty good because I always find yogurt to be too sweet (except for Nancy's - that's yum!). Zara mentioned that it would be even better with some coconut. So, I've been eating plain yogurt with sectioned orange (without the membrane between the sections) recently, and yesterday, I remembered that I had unsweetened coconut! (Remember that unsweetened coconut that I used for Jenny's Sweet Coleslaw?)  So, I put some plain yogurt in a bowl, sectioned an orange (I'm know there is a culinary term for this, but I forget what it is), sprinkled on some of the slivered almonds (I used that for the slaw too), some unsweetened coconut and then drizzled some honey on the very top. Yu-um!

I Also Finished a New Moss Pendant

I just listed Lichen Pincushion 2 that I posted about yesterday and I also listed Moss Pendant 4. I got some better pictures of the pincushion and I'll also share a picture of the pendant:

I think that this picture turned out well and it's also interesting (compositionally speaking).

This pendant is long and I usually thread the nylon thread through the pendants in two places, but since this one is long and skinny-ish, I only threaded through once.

I'll be listing Lichen Lavender Sachet 1 shortly (that's a bit of a tongue twister).

Poor Little Moss

Seriously, it's a good thing that I make faux moss, because this little guy has seen better days. I found this poor little moss several months ago while on a walk/hike in a local park; I believe it was on a fallen tree and the chunk of bark that it was on had broken off the tree. The little moss was chartreuse (very similar to the moss in my shop) when I got it, but I don't remember to water it every day (I'm better with succulents). I have it in a yogurt lid and I've been better at watering it lately, so you can see that it's greened up a bit. I think that I'll have to put it in a terrarium with some other mosses that a friend said I can remove from her yard, that way I can neglect it some and it will still survive.

Maybe I'll be successful and my terrarium will look as beautiful as The Oak Leaves' terrariums; she does an awesome job with them:

So, if you've ever made a terrarium and have had good luck or failures, please let me know what worked or didn't. I'm debating on whether I should use a fancy jar and put it as a centerpiece on my dining table, or reuse a food jar and put it in the windowsill. hmmmmm.... Oh, and there was recently a Storque article on terrariums that featured one of my Moss Rings! Yay!

Fern's Face

I finally managed to get a picture of Fern's face. Violet and Fern were trying to take a nap and they were so drowsy that I managed to get a few pictures. You can see that Fern has one cheek that is orange striped; actually, both of the kitties have orange tabby "under" the darker colors.

Lichen Pincushion 2

Here's a peek at the lichen pincushion I just finished; the rock portion is tan (instead of the gray of the first lichen pincushion) and has dark orange french knots. I'm probably going to work on some sachets next. I'll list this guy in the shop soon. However, it's super dark here with rain (so photographs might be difficult), but I'm not complaining because it's SO much better than 100 degree weather we had recently!

Azaleas and Rhododendrons are Blooming

It's about mid-season for the azaleas and rhododendrons (they do really well in Oregon and they are everywhere). All around town I see some that have already bloomed next to blooming plants next to plants in bud; I guess it depends on the variety. It's nice that they don't all bloom at once so that the blooming season lasts a bit longer (even though it would be one spectacular show if they did). Here's a picture I took of two bright pink flowering plants - the one on the left with the smaller flowers is an azalea and the one on the right is the larger blooms of the rhododendron.

More Wildflowers

My little container of wildflowers is continuing to surprise me. I don't remember having orange flowers last year, but it was a different dynamic (they didn't get planted until July). It's fun to see what will bloom next! Right now, I'm just excited about the orange because it's one of my favorite colors.

Lichen From My Childhood

There are so many different types of lichen! The ones that have inspired my Lichen Collection are the ones from my childhood; I grew up in an area that receives about seven inches of precipitation per year, so that lichen is different from the ones I've experienced in Oregon, where it's all over the trees (there's definitely some on rocks too, but the lichen in the trees is really predominant). Here's an image I found with similar lichen (you can visit the page here to learn more):