Love All Around You

Whether love is far away...

A flash of pink against the grey...

Familiar and worn...

Or bright and new...

Love is there, all around you.

Wordless Wednesday

Quite A Day

I did a bit of a shop update today. In addition to some staples like felted wool acorns and stones, I also added a new project that I have been working on, coasters. I have a few designs in mind but started with a leaf shape, in a variety of fall colors. I've been using one for the past week and like it well enough that I decided to add them to my shop.

I had to photograph all of my new pieces this morning. This meant I had to crop them, save them, list the items on Etsy, and chase children all at the same time. Needless to say, the process took me h.o.u.r.s...... By the time it was over, I was exhausted. I hadn't eaten lunch and the beautiful fall-ish weather was taunting me through the window of my office.

When I finished the last listing, I bid my computer adieu and trucked the kiddies outside for a walk. I believe at that very same moment, my bark brown acorns hit the front page of Etsy (drats! missed it!) and I came back from my walk to find a handful of sales. Woo hoo!! I'm so grateful...and tired. But mostly grateful.

Felted wool stones in rustic turquoise

Acorn cap birds nests made by my 11 year old

Vintage tea cup birds nest

Autumn leaves felted wool coasters

Have a happy weekend, all!

Wordless Wednesday

On The Hunt

In need of a diversion, I decided to hit the woods with my boys to hunt for mushrooms to photograph. They are expert hunters for their ripe ages of 4 and 3 and can spot the teeniest and wariest of fungus. Momma's rule is that they don't touch the mushrooms with their hands so at the start of our hunts, each picks out a walking stick with which to poke at mushrooms (and inevitably, whack each other with).

I don't know what it is exactly, but I've always been fascinated with mushrooms and find much inspiration in them. The boys and I thought we'd share what we found, and hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Quiet

It's been one of those weeks. Everything seems so busy it's hard to stop and catch my breath. The kids are busy busy busy, life is busy busy busy, and all I want to do is steal away and find my quiet. I did a quick dash towards the woods tonight with that aim in mind. Unfortunately the mosquitos, deer flies, and my 4 year old followed me....with his new "best friend" you see in the photo. Since I didn't find my quiet outside tonight, I'm hoping for some sewing and a margarita after the kids go to bed. It will do.

To all of you out there who feel like you're stretched too thin, have too many demands, not enough time to yourself, here's a little tiny bit of quiet for you and a toast to you as well. Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday

Inspiration

It's no secret that I'm an easily distracted crafter. I have a case of "the shinies" something fierce. "Oh look! Wool! Shiny..... Oh look! Buttons! Shiny..." I can't help it, there are so many amazing things in the world with which to work that I can't help but try them out. My latest indulgence is one that I'm super excited about. I purchased a set of small egg gourds from midnightcoiler on Etsy and they're so beautiful! They're about the size of a small hen's egg and the natural markings are delicious. I've been tinkering a bit already but I'll wait to let you in on what I have in mind.

Have any of you worked with gourds before? This is my first time and I'd love to hear what you've done.

I've also just finished felting a batch of earthy colored wool garments and I can't wait to cut into them. (I'll add that to the list of shiny...)

Happy Monday!

Conservation Minnesota Photo of the Week!

How exciting! This pic of my boy out flower picking is the photo of the week on the Conservation Minnesota website. They're a good cause, (and clearly know a cute kid when they see one) :D

Check them out:

Conservation Minnesota

mama, look what I picked
Originally uploaded by lilfishstudios

Wordless Wednesday

No Ifs, Ands, or Butts

Today was a wandery sort of day and we ended up on a beach on local Pelican Lake. It's a lovely beach; sandy and shallow, and today it was nearly empty except for a few swimmers and an Osprey out fishing. (he caught one too, a big one, good on ya Osprey!)

As I took off my shoes and settled down in the sand to watch the boys enjoy the water, my eyes fell on a cigarette butt that had been discarded in the sand. I turned my head and there was another, and another... they were everywhere. It angers me. It angers me to look around at this lovely beach knowing full well that there are both garbage cans and a designated "smokers' station" a few short feet up the boardwalk and that these people couldn't be bothered to pick up after themselves. It angers me that on a perfectly lovely afternoon, while my kids were playing in the waves, I was picking up someone else's mess, but that's what I did. I made a box out of a piece of paper that we had in the stroller and carried loads of butts up to the garbage cans. I couldn't help but wonder how many more had found their way into the water and how many more were under the sand, and how many more will be there when I return.

So a plea...if you smoke, pick up your butts. If you drink, pick up your bottle caps. If you eat, pick up your wrappers. If you come to place that's beautiful, keep it beautiful. Leave it better than you found it. Encourage others to do the same. Don't think it's someone else's job. It's yours. It's ours. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Penny Rug Bouquet

I snuck some time today to finish a project that I have been dabbling with and I was so excited that I had to post about it.

I've made a little bouquet inspired by penny rugs. I've used scraps of wool that I had felted from sweaters and coats, and tiny glass vintage buttons to create circular flowers. I attached them to floral wire so they can be arranged at will. I covered the back of each flower with black felt (also from garments) to cover the stitching and polish it off.

The circle is a shape that is pleasing to my eye and I'm digging the color combos on this piece, they're natural but kind of punchy too. I'm happy with how it turned out now that it's finally done. Stitching is a soothing activity for me, and this bouquet represents several weeks worth of relaxation time for me. I hope those peaceful, happy vibes stay with the bouquet, wherever it ends up.

Wordless Wednesday

Mushroom Mania Giveaway Winner

A sincere THANK YOU! to all who entered, tweeted, and blogged my little giveaway. It was fun to read your comments and I look forward to browsing the many new blogs I've found this week through your posts.

Now, without further ado, the winner as chosen by random.org is.... Meg. Congrats, Meg!

Happy Monday, everyone!

ABC Book Origami - love!

While sipping my coffee and reading my feeds this morning, I stumbled across a post by Heather from rhymeswithmagic and in it she showed off her recent project. She is a librarian by day and paper-folding genius by night and I love that she works books into her craftwork. This new project had me all agog. She's taken a set of books from the recycle bin and folded the pages so they show the alphabet. I can just see these set on a shelf in kid's room, in a home library, or right here above my desk might be nice...

They are in her Etsy shop, along with other wonderful folded pieces, including custom folded books and book jewelry.

Go check it out. (check it out, get it? haha.)

Inspiration

I have a project in my head that has been inspired by these two images and I can't wait to finish it. What's your inspiration today?

Wordless Wednesday

Monday's Mushroom

I'm starting this week with a teeny tiny mushroom brooch, made of recycled felted wool. Measuring just a wee 1.5" wide by 2" tall, it's a bit smaller than some of my other brooches but I kind of like this little niblet of a pin.

It just made its way into my Etsy shop.

Happy Monday!

A Full Week

We've had company here for the past week in the Jordan house and oh what a week it's been. We laughed, played, ate, cracked bad jokes, played ball, and enjoyed our little family completely. Our guests left this morning and we're now adjusting to life as normal. I'm feeling a little off-balance after ditching craft for cooking this week. Instead of playing with wool or buttons I've been simmering and spicing, roasting and toasting. I'm sure I'll be reaching for the crafting soon but for now I'm in no hurry. I really needed this week's diversions and I don't want the taste to leave quite yet.

During the week we took the kiddies to our small local zoo in Little Falls, MN which we all enjoyed. We also visited the Fishing Museum, stopped at our local growers market for some fresh-picked strawberries, went to the park, and went fishing. My husband took all of us to do a little shore fishing in an off-the-beaten-trail location and I was too distracted by the dismantled steel bridge and local flora to fish. I was found belly down in the grass taking pictures while the kids were catching sunfish. Normal.

This weekend I think we'll relax a bit and then launch back into life on Monday. Look for another post early next week regarding a wee giveaway.

Enjoy the weekend!

Sometimes You Win

...and sometimes you WIN! I have been on the prowl again for some specific vintage buttons for a project that's in my head and whilst searching through a recent button purchase found these amazing buttons. Now, you should know that I am a fan of natural materials and I have a deep fondness for agates, so when I pulled these sweeties from the pile I let out a happy little squeal. Aren't they beautiful? I wish I had a jeweler's sensibility because I'm sure they could be worked into something fabulous. I'm not sure what to do with them, any ideas?