(Not So) Wordless Wednesday

Today's wordless Wednesday needs a little explanation.  See, while the photo isn't much to look at, you should see this in the dark. 

This morning as hubby was stoking the woodstove in the dark, he pulled a piece of bark off of this log and beneath the surface was a light show, given off by luminescent fungus, sometimes known as foxfire.  It was glowing like a little runway down the entire length of the log.  So cool!  It makes me want to pull the bark off of all the dead trees in our tree pile one night to see how many other have this under their skins. 

Acorn Assortment

I had hoped to photograph all of the different acorns that felli in our forest this year, but life got busy and I didn't quite finish my goal. I had taken these early in the fall, which is why everything looks so lush and green, and after reading a fun comment from someone who entered last week's giveaway I was reminded that I had a few pics to share.  She had said that the European acorn didn't have such a nice head but that they were compensated because their squirrels have tufts on their ears.  :D  It made me giggle, and made me wish our squirrels had tufts on their ears.

I've often wondered how people picture acorns in their heads.  After making so many wool acorns, I realize I make acorns in a style that is familiar to me, but that may look disproportionate to others. 

So how do acorns look to you?  Does anyone have acorn pics they'd like to share with me?

Sunday Window Shopping

The holidays are swiftly approaching, and I hope you're all getting a jump on your shopping.  I also hope that you're being thoughtful in your buying, and choosing to buy handmade.  I probably don't have to preach the benefits of buying handmade to those of you reading this blog, but if you need help convincing others, this site is a good place to start. 

Today I'm thinking of how I'll be wrapping the gifts that I've purchased or made, and something I like to do is include a little ornament or other treasure on the outside of the package.  These finds from Etsy fit the bill nicely, don't you think?

This set of 6 handpainted rusted ornaments by NestaHome are so wonderful.  I would love to see these against a plain brown paper wrapping.  (hey, that's what I use....)  They come in a metal tin that makes them perfect for giving as a gift too.

Christmas Ornament Set of 6- Rusted Tin Snowflakes

Rikrak's shop is always full of colorful eco-friendly goodness and I just adore these tiny little stockings.  They'd look great on a gift or on the tree.  She uses felt that is made from post-consumer plastic bottles in her crafting so you can feel good knowing you're supporting green craft when you buy these.

eco friendly sweetiepie tiny little stocking ornament....your choice of ONE

Elizabethwren offers these sweet little trees. They're so cute with their vintage zipper trunks and fun patterns, don't you think?

One Sweet Tree Ornament

These temari balls from julieandco are really beautiful.  Temari is the ancient Japanese folk art of silk embroidered thread balls, originally made by noble women with silken threads pulled from old kimonos.  These are made of yarn and thread and what looks to be a whole lot of work.  Lovely! 

hand embroidered decorative thread balls - japanese temari - mini merry christmas temari in red

I am constantly amazed at the creativity of my dear friend WoollyFabulous.  She combines thrifted wool and zippers in the most fantastic ways and these little trees have me all agog.  The amount of work in these beauties is evident from the hand-stitching to the handmade felt balls.  I adore the one with the clothespin trunk, how about you?

Three Felt and Zipper Christmas Trees

I hope you've enjoyed these finds.  Now go forth and decorate!

Happy Sunday.

Giveaway Winner!

Good morning!  Thank you to all who entered my impromptu giveaway yesterday.  It was so nice to see you and know where some of you have come from.  I look forward to browsing some of the new blogs I've been introduced to as well.

And without further ado...the winner is (drumroll please)....

Regina

Congratulations!

Please contact me with your mailing address and I'll get your ornaments on the way.

Thanks again, everyone!  Have a great weekend.

A Giveaway

I've decided to have a one-day giveaway today.  I've just completed a few sets of ornaments and just felt like sharing.  Just comment once below, introducing yourself,  to have a chance to win.  Make sure I have a way to contact you.  I'll draw a winner tomorrow morning and post it here so please check back. 

Here's what you'll win:

A stuffed acorn and oak leaf ornament set.  They're made of recycled garment wool that I have felted.  The acorn is almost 4" long and is stuffed with scrap wool.  The leaf is also about 4" long and is made of a great ribbed wool.  They both have jute loops for hanging. 

Perfect for your tree, a gift, or for those ornament exchanges at work. 

Good luck!

Acorn Mushroom Ornament Tutorial

Here's an earthy little ornament project for you to try.  The boys and I had fun making these up yesterday and wanted to share them with you.

What you'll need:

• acorn caps without stems
• twigs cut into lengths of about an inch
• glue (we used wood glue because that's what we had, but something like Tacky Glue would work better)
• cotton balls
• a toothpick or other pointy tool
• hemp, twine, or ribbon (if you intend to make hanging ornaments)
• drill or dremel tool (if you intend to make hanging ornaments)

Flip your acorn cap upside down and put a generous dollop of glue in it.  Let the glue set up for a few minutes until it starts to get a bit tacky.  This will help your twig stay upright a little better. 

We put our caps in an egg carton to keep them steady, and to contain glue spillage.  (after all, my helpers are a bit messy)

When your glue has set up a bit, insert a piece of twig into the acorn cap.

Unroll a bit of cotton from your cotton ball and using the toothpick, poke it around the stem into the glue.  The boys really liked this part because they thought they were needle-felting.

Allow your mushroom to dry, and voila!  An adorable little mushroom!

If you'd like to make a hanging ornament, drill a hole in the top of cap and thread through a piece of hemp, twine, ribbon, etc. and repeat the same process.

I think these will look great tied on a package or hanging in the Christmas tree this year.

The boys and I had a little fun hiding some of these in the woods.  You can see some of those pics here on my flickr page.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday