Another Week

Another period of photographing nothing. Busyness has overtaken me, even as snow overtook my home these past few days.
Next week is looking to be warmer and with that we’ll be in April, sunshine, warmth, Spring. Work will be going full blast and so will I. Work, fireworks, baby showers, meetings. I’m anticipating and dreading it at the same time. Trying to be prepared.

Spring

It’s coming!

Snapdragons for a baby shower this weekend.

Succulents!

I’ve been introduced to rooting succulents recently. For a little while, it looked like nothing was going on, but I checked Sunday and I had a little tiny succulent sprouting (pictures of that to come as soon as daylight and I are home at the same time).It’s easy enough to do, all you need is some cactus potting soil, something to put it in, water, and a few cuttings.
This isn’t the best picture, but the cutting on the left is the one that’s sprouting. The others are rotten.
This is a sedum that looks like it’s starting to take off. I hope so, because it’s so pretty and I want a few pots of it.

This is my Haworthia. It was so weird I had to have it.

My flapjack plant.

This is my Hen and Chicks. More pictures coming soon. These are a week or so old and the sprouts are really starting to come out now.

Things To Do

Almost everything on my lengthy to-do list involves something outside. I have things to plant, my car needs cleaned and washed, I want to make a flower bed for honeybee flowers. The downside is that it was 23 degrees outside today. I’m hoping this is our last blast of winter weather. Maybe it’ll be warm and springy from now on. I know it won’t, but I’m still hoping.

Working on inside things right now, I need to finish a baby shower gift, make my Granny’s birthday present, start a gift for the next baby shower and put some more things on Etsy. So much to do, so little time, Spring will be here soon!

My First Etsy Sale!

I got home Monday after a long, slow, rainy day to find that I had my first Etsy customer! My Cowrie Shell and Leather necklace now has a home.

I’ve had a million different packaging ideas floating through my head. I wanted something cute and unique that would also serve as gift packaging if one were so inclined.

A fabric pouch was what I had decided on. So I cut two rectangles, zigzagged them together on three sides. Then I folded the top down and fastened it with a safety pin.

I then attached my “brand” to the safety pin, and voila. My idea of packaging.

I added a personal thank you note, as recommended, then boxed it up for shipping.

I can’t wait until it’s received!

The Power of the Past Tense

This graffiti is on my work exit. It’s everchanging. The city will paint over it, but something is always back within the next few days.
“I loved you Steph” is the newest addition and it always makes me wonder what happened between Steph and the person who loved her. Just adding a letter takes it from ordinary graffiti to heartstrings.

Monday Night Sewing

This was my view at my sewing class last night. Twice monthly 5th-8th grade 4-H’ers get together at the extension office and I get to teach the girls to sew! It’s one of my favorite and definitely one of the more rewarding things I do. And last night, watching how little help they needed (most of it being with cranky machines), seeing how comfortable and familiar they are with a sewing machine, the progress has been amazing. When we started in October half of them had never touched a machine before and sewing was something their grannies did, but not their moms because they “have absolutely no patience”.

In October the class was quiet. The girls were shy. Now the giggling doesn’t stop and I occasionally get hugs as they’re leaving. Last night there were apparently cookies involved and when I arrived there was already some hyper going on.

The class so far has consisted of doll clothes, wherein the girls learned about patterns and pinning, following a given order of things and pressing. Doll quilts, which they’re going crazy over, trying to see who can get her the corners of her 9-patch to match up the best. Bags for the older girls, which I haven’t seen since. And since they were told last night that there are only 4-5 classes left, a frantic searching for a final project to complete.

They. Love. Sewing.

Half of them asked for (and received) a sewing machine for Christmas. They brought them to the class and we made sure they had them threaded right.

This is what it’s all about. Teaching something that’s almost been tossed aside and forgotten in favor of the “in” brands. I love watching the creativity come out. The fabrics they choose to put together in a quilt. The sharing as they all work together to find out why a machine isn’t behaving properly. This is my part of making sure that sewing, the skills, and the desire to make something continues on. This is paying it forward.

New on Etsy!

I was finally home during some useable daylight yesterday.

Cowrie Shell and Leather necklace.

This is one of my Peas in a Pod necklaces. They’re being sold as a set of two, the perfect friendship gift. Also, this is where two of my felted beads went.

The Granny Square necklace. I have plans to make earrings out of granny squares, too.

Bird’s Nest necklace. This is one of my favorites, both to make and to photograph.

Pinterest Projects

I had lunch with a friend the other day (the best salad ever!) and we got to talking about how everyone is so busy pinning that they don’t have time to be DOING. I’m at least as guilty of it as the next person. I can spend a good amount of time on pinterest when I’m in the mood. My “Things to Make” board currently has 662 pins and I’m just about guaranteed to add at least one more every time I look at my feed.

I don’t want to live my life as a Pinner though. I want to be a Doer. In that interest, I’m going to attempt to actually do at least one thing from my Pinterest a week. Work is about to pick up and it’ll be five days of nonstop 9-6, but I’m going to try.

Last week I did this one, making felted beads from wool roving. I’ve been extremely pleased with the results, using two of the beads I made in a necklace design that I’ll be posting as soon as I ever have access to some natural light. I’m also planning to experiment with some earring designs soon.

This coming project is going to be very simple and also very cute. Plus I have two baby showers (for totally unrelated people) in the near future that I’ll need to package gifts for. I love the idea. I got my gift bag from Hobby Lobby for $.99, and my paper was half off. I intend to cut my triangles and then sew them together on the sewing machine before attaching them with glue sticks. This is also the perfect opportunity to make some sort of gift tags!

But before I hammer out all of the details on that, I have two baby showers to make gifts for.

Craft Fair-ing and Soap

My mom and I went to a little craft fair one county, two communities, and one town over this past weekend. We’ve been talking about organizing one in our town, and we were looking for inspiration.

I don’t know about inspiration, but I did find some pretty cool handmade soaps. I love handmade. I love soap. I found Laurel Creek Naturals. And Laurel Creek Naturals has some pretty cool soaps.

I chose The Dirty Gardener, which is a rosemary and mint scented soap with ground oatmeal mixed in; and Daydream Believer, which is lavender and lemongrass scented. I’m always looking for the perfect lavender-scented soap and I love the strong scent of this one. I just took a shower with it and it’s knocking me out as I type.

(excuse my photography, I haven’t been home during much natural daylight. also, it’s been particularly dreary lately)

I just love the shape. And the marbling. And the packaging. And the wonderful smell.

I also found her lip butters! They’re wonderful. I was a little bit worried about the cinnamon one, because my lips have been a little chapped lately, but there was no stinging or anything of the sort. I haven’t tried banana coconut yet, but I’m anxious to.