Coming Along Nicely

The garden and my latest project are coming along nicely.

Here is a sneak peek of what I've been working on (more on this soon):

and...the garlic has been harvested! We usually do this in the beginning of July, but things in the garden are going a little slower this year.

Accidental Gifts

Back—after a quick trip to visit family in New Jersey and a much appreciated change of scenery. It was a whirlwind road trip that blended the relaxing and the non-stop in perfect proportions.

We spent a day in NYC and, despite the touristy things we did, it was getting caught in a downpour at the Central Park water playground that was the highlight. Oh, you can plan to wow the kids with this and that, but when it comes down to it, it's so often the spontaneous events that are the memory makers. I find this to be true with fabricating jewelry and, really, any art I create. The unintentional becomes the focal point. A series of fortuitous events is frequently the way a new design is born.

It can be so frustrating, though, can't it? The accidental can be a gift, but keeping that in mind is much easier said than done. In fact, it's something I seem to have to re-learn everytime it happens.

Water, Water

This can't be good for the squash plants.

The chicken coop entrance is now a small pond,

...and something tells me we won't be having a fire in this pit any time soon.

The already suffering-from-too-much-rain garden takes another hit. I will be holding my breath over the next few days as I watch to see which of those battered veggies will bounce back.

The good news? Broccoli, just picked, is on the menu tonight!

As for the Jewelry...

You may have noticed and absence of all things metal in my recent posts. It's true—I have spent very few hours in my workshop. With the kids home, it is impossible for me to sneak downstairs and get any work done, so we have been spending our days knitting, sewing, and cooking together. And, oh, how I am loving that the girls are big enough to participate in these activities in a much greater capacity than ever before.

As for the jewelry...

I am excited for the recent inquiry by a very interesting online store, for the gold I just purchased, and for the new line I have designed. Now, to actually fabricate those pieces...that's another story.

Making Plans

My family goes with the flow—we just like to let the day unfold and see where it takes us. But lately, especially this summer vacation, we have had to be a little more disciplined with our time. Seems there is so much we have and want to do, and the days are ticking by so fast.

Here's a sneak peek of some things that will be helping to fill our time over the next few months:

A new piece of furniture designed by The Husband...

A gorgeous stack of fabric....

Our Family Summer Center that organizes all our goals and accomplishments for the vacation...

...And some yummy Peruvian wool.

What will be made of the wool and fabric? What will our new custom piece of furniture feel like? What will be added to our list of goals and things the kids wish to do? Time will tell...

Late July

After so many days of rain in June and early July, we have finally enjoyed a couple of weeks of sunny summer weather. But it was during those dark rainy days that our garden truly suffered. Delicate transplants were drowned out (if not destroyed by the chickens), and all the veggies seemed just a bit stunted without the sun to reach towards.

This brings us to now, late July, a time when were are usually enjoying our garden's bounty. It would be salads every night, sliced cucumbers for snacks, and zucchini up to our ears. But not this year. We have harvested most of our surviving lettuce, snacked on some string beans and seasoned all our meals with fresh herbs, but that's about it.

So, in a effort to grow more of our own food this year, we have stepped up our sprout production, including them in more recipes than I probably should. We have The Sprout Garden, a sprout grower that makes it super easy to wash and drain the seeds as they grow. I order our seeds from Wood Prairie Farm in Maine, where we get our seed potatoes, too.

We have our sprouts , herbs, and lettuce for the time being, as we patiently wait for the broccoli (any day now), potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, carrots, and onions. Coming, hopefully, soon.

Buckets o' Fun

I spent some time last week making these MayaMade Buckets—one for each of my girls, and one as a little-girl gift. I had come across rave reviews of this bucket pattern on more than one blog, and I knew we could find so many great uses for them. I imagined them as toy storage, as a caddie for random items, or as my current-knitting-project basket. My girls, however, came up with a few uses I hadn't considered—like MacGyvering them onto a zip line, or as hats with funny ear straps.

They were originally designed to be made with repurposed burlap coffee sacks, but lacking those, I used what I had. I do have a few planned for myself soon, and hope to get my hands on some old burlap sacks first.

I'll most likely share pictures of the grown-up versions of the buckets once they are finished. But something tells me they will be reinvented into thingamajigs and whoseywhatseys by a certain five- and seven-year-old before I can claim them as my own.

Freedom and Time

Clematis blooming in clusters on the trellis...

The girls passing time finger knitting (learn how here)...

Blankets for Craft Hope project #3 getting boxed up and ready to go...

And toy birds in a tree...

I came upon these birds in our dogwood tree yesterday quite by surprise. Funny, what the kids will come up with when given freedom and time a-plenty. They learned how to finger knit—and have made scarves for many, many stuffed friends. We have had time to craft for the sake of those who do not have. We have been living in our yard, in its summer-blooming glory.

*Sigh*, Summer!

Mmmmmm...

The deep-fried millet croquettes (recipe from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair) we had for dinner last night were delish, but it was the pot of leftover deep-frying oil (safflower oil) that inspired our dessert-on-a-whim. These home made potato chips, complete with a generous helping of salt were thin, crispy, and full of real potato taste. Quick, easy, and yummy.

She Made You a Beard

Now this is what I call creative. I found these yarn and felt beards on Etsy a few weeks ago and can't stop laughing about them.

Erin is the genius behind I Made You a Beard, her little Portland, Oregon-based beard crafting company. She says she was born without the ability to grow a beard, so she now makes them to help people like her blend in with their bearded compatriots. (Finally!) Adaptable to different head sizes and backed with cotton lining for stability, there is surely a beard to fit and please everyone.

This whole concept makes me giggle but Erin takes it a step further with her humorous descriptions. Read them and be entertained. Here's a good one: "To me, this is the perfect everyday beard. Stylish, but not too flashy; the classic piece you have been dying to add to your wardrobe."

Hysterical. Browse her shop and read some descriptions—for fun or for serious beard shopping. I have a feeling you, like many before, will want her to make you a beard.

Fastest Blankies in the East

I thought it was about time I get these baby blankets done and in the mail. After all, the babes they were made for were born in December. To make up for lost time, I opted for the fastest blankie in the east. It's made using a simple double crochet stitch with a scallop edge, a yarn flower added for extra girly-ness.

Those precious baby girls have lived the first six months of their lives just fine without these blankies, but I hope they get lots of comfort and warmth from them in the years to come.

Love Pickles

I do love pickles. But I am talking about Pickles, the Etsy shop and blog. Heidi and Anna are the Norwegian craftsters who run Pickles. They describe themselves as "knee deep into craft" and, based on all they have to offer, I would say that's a pretty accurate description.

Their online shop features organic hand printed cotton items for baby and knitting patterns like the one for this adorable "Oh, Handsome" sweater (pictured above).

The blog, a "knitting, crochet, cupcake and craft blog" is chock-full of free patterns and craft project tutorials. Check out the instructions for the the Puff Daddy Knitted Stool and the Whirl-It Lampshade—my favorites.

Pickles has a new venture as well—they'll be selling their favorite yarns in a new online shop opening soon. It promises yarn that's "soft and pretty, but not pricey." That sounds good to me. I'll let you know as soon as it opens.

"Craftsman/Piano Playing Coffee Barista?"

"Craftsman/piano playing coffee barista"—that is how my good friend recently described my husband. As a major creative force in our home, I think it's time you got to know him.

He is a carpenter by trade and an artist in all aspects of his life. Having him as part of our family is good in so many ways. We get live piano performances daily, custom made furniture to fit the wonky spaces in our old house, home made candy (his sweet tooth benefits us all in that way), and lattes or cappuccinos whenever we (ok, I) need one.

His current wood shop projects include chess pieces, a bench to go with the table he recently completed, and a banjo. Yup, he's making a banjo.

So that's him in a nutshell. Now that you've heard a bit about this endlessly talented man I get to call my husband, you'll feel like you know him when I include him in future posts. His projects and experiences leave me no shortage of expertly crafted items and interesting stories to blog about. Tune in soon to see more of his work...

The Solution

As I mentioned before, our hungry hens have been destroying our garden—scratching, trampling, pecking and eating the already challenged veggies (read more about that here). It was clear, we needed fences around all the gardens but I did not want to spend any more money on this cause.

The solution? Sticks. We had a pile of sticks in the back corner of our yard so we poked them into the ground around the perimeter of the garden. Even though the chickens could fly over the fence if they really wanted, the sharp, twisted branches seemed to be enough of a visual barrier to keep them at bay—until they figured out they could squeeze between them. Imagine our surprise when we found all the chickens on the wrong side of the fence eating the lettuce. Foiled. So we added more sticks, filling in the spaces, and the chickens have not had lettuce for lunch since. Or perhaps I should say, yet.

Paints and Plates

A couple of years ago I had the ultimate score at the thrift shop—a large box of plain white plates and matching tea cups. The plates are the kind with the little circle indent where the tea cup sits, perfect for serving hot cocoa and cookies. These would be perfect to paint and give as gifts to all the little girls in our lives.

I decorated many of these sets as gifts and saved the last 2 for my girls, on which I planned to paint their favorites things. For 2 years now. And still haven't. Which brings us to yesterday, another rainy day with boredom setting in. So, I set the girls loose with paint and their very own tea sets to decorate however they pleased. The finished products were colorful, imaginative and just-how-they-like-it. Which, I know, is better than anything I could have designed and painted.

We use Pebeo Porcelaine 150 paints—water-based paint that you can cure in your own oven. Just paint and then bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. The paint is non-toxic, permanent, and dishwasher safe. You can use it on ceramic, glass, metal, and terra-cotta, among other surfaces.

I am thinking another visit the thrift shop will yield all kinds of new pieces we can paint. Maybe we'll go today. Since it's raining. Again.

Summer Sale

I am making way for some new pieces, so a few of the old ones (including the one pictured above) must go. Check out the "SALE" section of my shop.

Kitchen Therapy

All this gloomy June weather combined with the start of summer vacation has lent itself nicely to staying inside and cooking. We have happily whipped up some treats the kids have been wanting to make, some more involved recipes, and some of the usual staples. So in the three days of vacation thus far we have made: chocolate chip cookies, glazed nuts, a handful of fresh juices (peach-blueberry the fav so far), chocolate-covered strawberries, creamsicles, cheesy popcorn, 4 different kinds of bread, strawberry-orange popsicles, and watermelon agua fresca—whew!

With bellies full, we watched the sun peek out this evening for the first time in eight days. That's my cue to close up the kitchen-as-entertainment for a bit so we can rediscover the backyard. Find out what got pummeled by the downpours, what has bloomed, and what has been utterly unproductive in the absence of sunlight. And so life outdoors returns, if not a bit late.

For now, I'll relax with my husband (more on him soon!) and enjoy a watermelon agua fresca, with a little rum added, and drink a toast to the King of Pop.

Easy On-The-Go Art Kits

I have written before about the quandary of the ever-present kids' birthday party on our family calendar. With so many gifts to give, I am always looking for ideas for presents that won't be quickly tossed aside or broken.

For a recent double birthday party, these felt pencil (or crayon) rolls, accompanied by a nice sketch book were the perfect thing. They were simple to construct and used basic materials—100% wool felt and a bit of ribbon. We did ours in bright colors and arranged the pencils and crayons in a rainbow. On the pencil roll, we added an extra pocket for a pencil sharpener—which turned out to be the birthday boy's favorite thing! We embellished the outside with the childrens' initials and used their favorite colors to make these perfect on-the-go art kits.

Felt Pencil Roll idea and instructions are from The Creative Family, by Amanda Blake Soule.

Doughnuts

Warm, soft, and sweet, these homemade doughnuts were the perfect undertaking for a Saturday morning. My mouth was watering when I found this recipe for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts online.

As a family who used to live in the land where Krispy Kreme stores abound, we crave the unmatched experience that is eating one (or two) of their doughnuts. And while the final product didn't quite compare to the real thing, it was—by all means—a delicious substitute.

Attack of the Chickens

Scratched up dirt and rolled rocks...

Trampled tomatoes...

Gravel strewn around the yard...

And one hen who has decided to eat her own eggs (eeewwww!)...

The chickens (more about them here) have been ruling the roost lately—scratching, trampling, helping themselves to the lettuce, and wreaking garden havoc in general. Looks like the time has come to take back the yard. We have our work cut out for us—fencing the rest of the not-yet-fenced gardens, mending trampled veggies, raking dirt and gravel back to where it came from, and replacing the painted rocks back to the borders they make.

As for the hungry hen? We are not so sure. Suggestions welcome.