I came up with this project because I was looking for a do-it-together-in-stages project that would be satisfying for both me and my four year old daughter. This project took us a few days because we wanted to take it easy and have fun. Tiny toddlers and pre-schoolers love it because there is lots of…
circle garland tutorial
late afternoon
3 Trees in a Row This is print that I made for a charity auction for Chick’s school. I urge anyone local to come check it out because it is going to be a super fun time. A rockin’ band will be playing, there will yummy food, wine, local hard cider, home brew, and lots…
remake :: sunny bird string
Chick and I used brown paper grocery bags from my new best friend, the recycling bin, to make groovy sunny bird strings. First, we painted. Then, we let our new blue paper dry in the sun. I decided to use two different blues and purposely made it streaky because I like how it makes each…
open
My *red bird crafts* shop has some items for sale for the first time ever. I’m just saying. xo e
remaking
I love garbage! Well, not fully. But, I do love sifting through junk mail and recycling to find little treasures. Since coming to realize some new ways to use my beloved recycling, the cheery crafter in me decided that this could all be a big, fun personal challenge where I encourage myself to use five…
inside
Even though it was 23˚ outside this morning, we are busy cultivating spring inside. A friend gave us this hearty crocus that seems to want to grow more and more new flowers each day, and I have been concentrating on carving woodsy animals and plants that love to frolic outside in the warm spring air….
stamps
I am finding that hand carved stamps are kind of like poems. They are small wonders packed with texture, meaning, and little bit of irony. And, I am in love with them. I started by making little designs that could be used in repetition to make patterns. Then, I moved on to making little realistic…
rescue
I have been in rescue mode lately. I think it must be a combination of emerging from sick season, where everyone in my family needed soup and tea, and a need to revitalize after a long winter. Lately, even in my dreams I find myself restoring and taking care of what has been left behind….
nesting
Almost springtime always makes me feel like almost cleaning. You know – the move that futon here, install some new shelves, paint a stool, sort my buttons by color kind of cleaning. Definitely not the dusting, mopping, scrub the grout with a toothbrush kind of cleaning. Between all of our almost cleaning, birthday celebrations, and…
juxtaposition
poem=1998 picture=2008 a coastal day twice we pass by that “wedding cake house” pasted with Rococo froth. my warm soda is leaving sap of sugar on my gums. too much. can we go? no time for grainy snapshots from your twenty five cents hunk of gray camera. i can’t breathe with thick steady streams of…
heart strings
We made heart strings for Valentine’s Day. It all began with Trader Joe’s paper bags that had pretty red designs on the back and my love for sewing things that are not fabric. I cut the paper bags so they were flat, mixed up some pink, purple, and red paints, and set Chick to work…
table
I have been in total planning mode the past few days, which is why I haven’t posted as much as I have wanted to. Projects 1. recovering two thrifted chairs (I will have before and after shots) 2. sturdying an old stool and repainting with red milk paint (I will have before and after shots)…
under ten
Miss Mouse is now a little over one, which means she has reached the age where she is nosing around in cabinets, playing with sharp pencils, and sucking the little knob on the door that houses the garbage can every second of the day. Well, at least it feels that way. A list of the…
eat & look book
This pumpkin, oatmeal, applesauce muffin is my new favorite muffin. You can sprinkle sugar in the raw on the top before baking or an oatmeal, butter, brown sugar topping. Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins based loosely on Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious recipe for “applesauce muffins” Ingredients: 3/4 cup of white flour 3/4 cup of wheat flour 1…
noon
Shortly after we arrive home from picking Chick up from preschool, Miss Mouse beds down for her afternoon nap. The house becomes sleepy and quiet. On sunny days, the living room floods with light. While I chop and melt and spread, Chick usually begins to gather supplies for the daily birthday party or picnic that…
sisters
This picture was taken one year ago when Miss Mouse was very wee and new. I love how their two heads fit together like a puzzle. Like they belong together.
push pins
I have this perpetual pile of scraps, which is full of fabric with clever little designs and patterns. I never really knew what to do with these too small, irregular lost souls *until* I met my new best friend: the cover button. It is the perfect little project because each button takes no more than…
blue
a list of some of my favorite blue things 1. Miss Mouse’s eyes 2. this Fire King mug (yes, it is an oven proof mug – you never know) 3. the cupboard in our kitchen 4. this little glass container 5. my stash of turquoise 100% wool felt 6. the sky just before a rain…
over the hills
Chickpea and I went to her friend’s birthday party today. This little person happens to be her first friend. Ever. (His mom and I met when the babies were still in that really cute crinkled up, baby potato sack stage). The long drive was sunlit. Our local radio station was playing the top 93 songs…
three
trees in the moonlight on navy blue mama bird with baby on black three little fishies on navy