Penelope Fox

I would like you to meet Penelope Fox. 

Yesterday, there was a strange creature out of my window at work. When I looked closer I realized, "It's a FOX!!" She was eating the birdseed that drops from the feeders. Her slim limbs and her long snout made her look so dainty, but as she walked and pranced around, her grace and cunningness came out. That's when I knew her name had to be Penelope. She was dark brown on top with a line of red and then a white undercoat. She was just beautiful. I watched her for a good fifteen minutes. And I knew I had to go home and make a fox immediately. So I did! 

I put the fox in the window at work because I thought maybe she'd be back tonight. She was. I snuck outside to watch her in the wild. It wasn't very long before she recognized my presence and stood at the edge of the wood to stare at me. We both just stood there waiting for the other one to move. Finally, she realized I was no threat to her and went about her day. I just stood there trying to memorize every color in her coat.

sewing tags

Somewhere I read an article about how you could type on fabric and heat set it. If you wrote this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Last night I stayed up pretty late obsessing over such a thing. Love stories on the television, my typewriter in my lap, fabric ironed on to freezer paper and a thousand trial and errors. But it was so much fun, I couldn't give up. I finally got it down pat and now I have a baby food jar filled with sewing tags with my little business name on them! I'm so excited. 

So, excited in fact that I stayed up and extra hour just to make something to sew such a tag in. Sleep be dammed, sometimes it is way more important to be creative! 

After an etsy sale that went all the way from Indiana to Australia, I'm psyched to get making things again. I love these and I can't wait to add them to my products.

What were you doing at midnight last night?

Well, let me tell you what I was doing.

I went to my favorite little greenhouse before I went to work at three. And then I looked at the weather forecast. And it said it was going to rain the next two days. (a brief side note here: it has yet to rain) So, I get off work at 9:30, zoom home and then it struck me, "get out the flood lights!"

So I did.

And I worked and worked and worked until I finally got everything planted around midnight. It was so amazing. All the houses around me had gone dark, there were lightning bugs everywhere, the only noise was a random passing car and a few crickets here and there. No heat, no mosquitoes, no interruptions. It was really amazing.  And now my garden is all planted! 

And! I got to play with my camera. A pretty great way to spend the night. 

Catnip Happiness and New Additions.

I would like you to meet Hal. Actually his name is Halak. After the Montreal Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak, who played his heart out this year during the nhl playoffs. (even though they didn't make it to the big game. sigh) However, with this new addition Sir Hank, named after the loveliest hockey player of all time Henrik Zetterberg, is a little jealous. For three days he didn't even sleep at the foot of the bed! So, today to make him feel extra special, I made him some catnip fishes and hearts. Hank loves catnip. He has a red catnip mouse he carries around the house with him. Sometimes he even brings it to bed.

So, here are Hank's special catnip toys. Hopefully he'll remember that I love him. He is such a sweet boy. (and yeah, I talk about my cats as though they were kids! what of it?)

I started with some plain duck cloth and made a cute little template. Traced and cut out.

I used some basic acrylic paints to paint, dab, flick and dot in different patterns to make bright and cheery fabric.

I then stacked two on top of one another and stuffed them with polyfill and organic catnip.

And LOOK! cute catnip toys for my precious little boy.

I think he likes them!

God, why are cats so cute?

Aluminum Can Planters: A Tutorial

There is something you have to know about me: I AM CHEAP.
I hate spending money more than I hate doing the dishes. (unless it's money on crafting supplies or thrifting, there's always money for that!) But, I'm always trying to find a way to cut corners. Have you noticed how expensive planters are? C'MON! it's made out of plaster and painted, why is it that expensive? But I love flowers and happen to work at a place that has a kitchen. So I begged and pleaded with the dishwasher boys to save the industrial sized aluminum cans for me.

I brought them home and gave them a quick coat of spraypaint...

and drilled some holes in the bottom for drainage and then filled with rocks, dirt and plants.

I found these cute knives at a yard sale (20 of $3!!)

And wrote on them with a permanent marker to use as plant stakes!

It makes a very pretty presentation on my front porch steps.

Man, I love summer.

stitching a chicken.

Today I started stitching this rooster. I plan to make it a part of a market bag I'm making for my big adventure on Saturday. This town a little ways south of me has a HUGE community yard sale. And I need a big, big bag with a comfortable handle to tote around. my wallet, my camera and all the good stuff I find? yes, put it in the bag. I found this vintage kitchen towel at my local thrift store this past week. And for two quarters, I couldn't resist bringing him home. I'm adding a few more colors. I'll post the finished bag before I set off into the wild in search of deals. I'M SO EXCITED! 

Peonies and Carnations. A tutorial.

I have to admit something. I love pink carnations. I know that carnations are the store brand flower of the florist world, but I swear; if any boy ever bought me an armload of pink carnations, I would probably hand him my heart in a little box.

My mom works at a local florist and I love to visit her there. Surrounded by flowers, how could you ever be unhappy? When they get shipments of carnations, they keep them in five gallon buckets at room temperature to settle and open. It's like a color wheel of carnations. I just love it. These pretty pink (leaning on peach) carnations asked me if they could come home with me and I said yes. With a boy who has an utter disdain for carnations, I'm perfectly happy buying them for myself and bringing them home in my bike basket. ha!

However, even with a mother who makes arrangements for a living, I'm absolutely terrible at putting together an arrangement. But I have found a way to do it with ease that even the least capable can make. You'll look like a pro. 

The Supplies:

A vase or a tin can. This is a recycled tomato juice can. 

Tape. I try to use something that will match the container. You can purchase florist tape at the craft store, but for this, I used mylar tape. It matches the can and I had it in the craft closet.

Scissors

Flowers. I brought home pink carnations and cut white peonies out of my yard. 

Greenery. You can use anything! These are pieces of a bush in my front yard that is getting ready to bloom so it had nice buds on it. Greenery is a godsend. It will fill any holes that you miss and give you a nice base.

Step One:

Cut strips of tape to make a grid on top of your container. This is called a frog. You'll be poking the stems of your flowers through the square holes.

Step Two:

Begin placing your greenery around the base. I always start with greenery because it's easier to get around the bottom before you put your flowers in. 

Step Three: 

Begin placing your flowers. I started with the peonies because they are big and fluffy and take up a lot of space. It then allowed me to place my carnations so you could see them prominently. Here is a helpful tip! When cutting your flowers, place them next to your container and snip your stem level with the table. You will never cut a flower too long or short again! No more pulling a flower out a million times to snip just a little off!

Step Four:

After your flowers are in, you can take extra pieces of greenery and fill in any gaps you may see. 

And there you have it! A beautiful arrangement that is super quick. (and no one will ever be the wiser!) I sat mine next to my sewing machine as I was making some curtains for my bedroom redo. (Super easy curtain tutorial forthcoming!) I wanted to be outside but had inside work to do. I'm glad I got to bring some flowers indoors. 

I hope you are having a lovely weekend!