The Weirdest Craft I've Ever Seen

I borrowed this book from the school where I teach.  Old books like this are always an inspiration for me, and the illustrations are simply adorable in this one.

...  and it describes this craft that is so bizarre I had to show you:

The best part about it is that I feel like if I taught this craft to the 5, 6, & 7 year-olds that I teach, they probably wouldn't even think it was that weird.  Walking face with fingers coming out of its mouth?  Hell yeah!

This gives me a brilliant idea to create an entire book of crafts that make absolutely no sense, like the one above.  Do you think anyone would buy it?  If the illustrations were cute enough, I think it would fly.

This book also has some cool ideas for other (more normal) crafts, accompanied by ridiculously cute illustrations:

Clonehenge: A Blog about Stonehenge Replicas (they are not kidding)

I stumbled across a blog called Clonehenge recently when I was looking for terrarium inspiration.

I love it, and I think you should see it.  Not only do they have cool pictures of things like a mini version of Stonehenge inside a terrarium (see below), but they also have a terrific sense of humor.  Reading about Stonehenge replicas has never been so entertaining!  And to top it off, the title of the blog is a pun.  Bravo!

been busy around the house

At times it's a challenge for me to connect real life with internet life, and that's why I've been an inconsistent blogger.

My last post (over a month ago) was about our trip to the Redwoods, which we did and it was fantastic!  Rainy, but fantastic just the same.

Here are some things around the house that have been exciting me lately....

We built raised garden beds for our back yard!  Of course, these photos were taken over a month ago, so stay tuned for garden updates.  Here's Ilan doing the power drill thing.

My dad let us borrow his truck & wheelbarrow for doing the dirty work.

 We learned how to make stuffed poblano peppers!  With rice, beans, veggies, & cheese.  It looks a bit grotesque here, but I assure you it was a real treat.

We painted our bedroom (finally!).  This sort of minty mellow green, which goes nicely with the browns & golds of the rest of our stuff that goes in there.

I bought this absurd/lovely merman hook for (some of) my necklaces!  'Tis an impulse purchase I do not regret.

I made these frames to hold my earrings!  I finally faced up to the fact that I have so many of them, I needed a system.  God, I love jewelry.  I got the plastic grid material from SCRAP (it's actually for doing needlework, but works for so many other things), stapled it into some thrift store picture frames, and painted the whole mess.  Viola!

I should also note that I got this idea of using this material for this purpose from a fellow volunteer at SCRAP, who sells earrings at craft fairs and displays them this way.  I would give her a plug here, but I can't remember her name and I can't find her Etsy shop... so maybe some other day!

I crocheted this plant hanger to hold this pot!  I found myself with all these leggy succulents flowing lazily out of their designated terrariums & pots.  Something had to be done.  I rounded them all up and made them into one big hanging monster.  The material is just cheap ol' acrylic yarn, and I made up a pattern based on hat-making, only with bigger holes.  That's right folks, it's really just an upside-down hat with strings tied to it.  You should try making one!

I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm a sucker for old-timey animals in clothing, especially when they're humble, have silly magical adventures, and speak with British accents.  I found this Wind in the Willows record at The Record Room (here in Portland).  It's very abridged -- it doesn't even include the "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" chapter -- but still worth the $3 I paid for it!  That Badger gets me every time.  I want to spend a night nestled in his cozy underground home.  And I didn't even know he played the concertina until I saw this cover!

 

 

 

And finally, I'd like to share with you the blooming things.  Maybe I should have saved this for a separate post, but I'm too excited and I already uploaded the photos, so here we go!

I planted some tulips in the front of the house the moment we moved into this place in December.  They came up like gangbusters and did their thing, just like they said they would.

Also, I am happy to report that my kalanchoe is blooming for the first time since like two years ago.  I love it.

And finally, here's a plant of which I do not know the name.  I've had several of these plants for years, but this is the first time I've seen one bloom!  I had no idea it was possible.  These plants are cool because when they're healthy, they will reproduce like crazy by growing tiny baby versions of themselves along the edges of their leaves.  These babies will drop into the soil and grow like madmen.

Here's what the smaller versions look like: