Garden Orb Lanterns DIY

I adore this chick's blog, The Art Of Doing Stuff. She is always a pleasure to read and I always learn something, whether it is how to properly re-wire a lamp or how to change the channels on your neighbours television with your remote. This one is so easy and fabulous, I had to share :)

Glass lamp globes

Basically if you take these (easily found for about $1 each at any thrift store)...

...and you add these (also for about $1 at your local thrift store)...

...you get gorgeous high end looking garden lighting. Stunning. And crazy inexpensive. Love. Go and check out her blog for more photos and how tos... very worthwhile :) Happy garden beautification!

...How Does My Garden Grow?

I spent today challenging the clouds to actually do what they were promising and throw down the rain in torrents. I dressed in my winter coat and scarf so that I could get my stolen booty of plants into the ground before they dried up. Just as I figured, it never happened beyond a few drops. Silly clouds.

Possibly a quince? Maybe?

I am determined to get my forest into a usable space before my Garden Party Extraordinaire. I spent my Easter pillaging plants from the natural landscape around my mother's property. I found some gorgeous tree like things that fought back gallantly when I tried digging them up but they have wee buds on them and I think they are the babies of the gorgeous tree I spied on a walk last summer. Mwahahaaa... I don't need no stinkin' garden center!

I also found some wild strawberries (I hope) and some other things that came out of the ground by accident and I felt bad so I took them home and found them a place too. Should be interesting to see what happens. At least it is no longer just a maple forest. Dylan doesn't know it yet, but this weekend he will be building me stone steps and small walls with all the rocks I found at the back of the property. I love me a manicured forest... now, to find myself a cello player.

Oh, Is It Earth Day?

Apparently it is Earth Day today. I say that off-handedly because I don't really have a purpose for Earth Day. I know there is a point: we are trying to get those on board who don't already think in conscious terms. If we show people that using less water or electricity or whichever actually made a difference on April 22 then perhaps those who turned the lights off in the rooms they were not using will feel empowered to do more. To do "their part". Unfortunately for the masses (and maybe for the tone of this blog) I think we should be past that. I think perhaps we should have already figured this whole thing out. It could be argued that today is a day to celebrate the advances we have made, or the fights we have won... I could get behind that... but really, the bottom line is, we are smart enough (or should be) to realize that we only have one planet and we are killing it. Period. We drive too much, even though we know we shouldn't. We drink coffee every day that is grown in bad ways by people who are abused by the companies that own them. Some of us (according to a lot of the design blogs that I read,) even celebrate our Starbucks addiction. I just ate birthday cake two nights ago off of a paper plate and didn't say anything because I know that these people (who are family) just dig their heels in and close their ears. The arrogance of our day to day is astounding and in the end (which we seem to be rapidly heading towards) whoever is left, or the aliens that find the planet, or the civilization that exists in a few hundred or thousand years... when they study us, they will wonder how it is that we, armed with the knowledge that we had the power to fix things, the capacity to understand that it was up to us, why we still broke our only home.

On that note, I feel that now I owe it to you guys to throw something pretty on here and say a few words that represent the hope that we will get it before it's too late.

Right... so here are some pretty pictures, and they actually do represent a few things that happened to wrestle their way past my cynical side this morning. Firstly, I am inspired by the fact that I can look outside my window and see the wonders of the birds nesting, the flowers pushing out of the ground and life continuing to live. The birds and flowers have not given up and we shouldn't either. The mere fact that they are there to celebrate and inspire us should be enough to get us to pay attention. The earth has given us so much beauty, sustenance and more, it would be impolite of us to not return the favour. My kids and I are sprouting tiny seedlings of native plants and berry bushes on the windowsill to plant out in the garden with the idea that perhaps they will help to feed the birds and squirrels when they are grown. Ours are in eggshells but I am thinking they may have to be transferred to a lovely terrarium to protect them from Thing 1 and Thing 2.

The butterfly mobile from Babyjives, apart from the symbolism of the butterfly for metamorphosis and all, is from their shop on Etsy. I feel very strongly that Etsy has been hugely influential in supporting and sustaining the handmade movement that is encouraging artists, stay at home moms, small and local businesses, people who use vintage and reLoved pieces and society as a whole to think about how and what they consume. The online shop is a way for us to create a local marketplace with a global education and PR. It's a system that works and could really change one of the biggest BADS of the global crisis we are in. THINK about what you are purchasing and why and how. Vote with your dollar.

The garden is from my crafty inspiration file... to remind me to make crafts with my kids and spend time with them, to be out in the garden as much as possible, to make art and in this case to make it out of scraps and found bits. I just love how happy this piece is.

The gorgeous bedding is from Amy Butler. Her line of bedding includes Bamboo and Organic Cotton and even though she doesn't have to do this to make money... her products will sell regardless... she is both running a company that is doing a bit towards making a difference as well as a company that shows that our demands for greener business practices have been heard. Buying and consuming less is not just a choice we should be making, but it soon will be the only choice. By being conscious of who we are purchasing from and supporting those that run ethical businesses we are doing a major part towards making life better for all of us. Buy LESS and make sure that what you do buy is BETTER in every way possible.

 Weigh in! What are your thoughts? Tell me something good you have seen or are happy about for Earth Day... what does it mean to you? Do you do anything special today? Do you do anything these days that you didn't used to do that makes you a "better" earthling? LOL... Leave a comment!

Brilliant Modern Garden Wall

Loving these super slick, affordable, DIY planter walls from Apartment Therapy.

Find instructions here.

Not only do they make sense, but they would be relatively easy to find found materials for. It seems to me that there are always a few of these cinder blocks hanging around yards and sheds someplace. Let your neighbours know that you are on the lookout and you just might end up with a wall full!

Amy Stuart Strikes Again... With BUGS... eeeeewwwww!

I love this wee film Amy Stuart is using to promote her new book (due out in May) called Wicked Bugs! My kids are divided... Liam already has creepy crawly issues and I have inadvertently just created more months years of  having to remove every single teeny bug out of his presence. Rowan loves it. I got a good laugh and thought I would share it with you all :)

I loved her book on Wicked Plants, but I think I will personally have to leave the reading of this one to Rowan.

WANT

Image via Houzz

Why do my rock walls not look like this?

Teeny Gardens

Gardening is on my mind! I have been searching the entire house for the stash of seeds I found just before we moved, stuck in a silver teapot. I had put them there so that I would remember where they were, but just in case, I moved them as I was packing. If I had left them in the teapot, I would now be gleefully flipping through packets of flowers and veggies to be, but I put them someplace practical and obvious, so that I could find them come spring. Of course, now I can't for the life of me figure out where I put the bloody things!

Anyhoo, I digress. I have had thoughts of starting seeds indoors for weeks, and long, intense internet searches have somehow taken a side road into little and innovative terrariums. When my youngest was born, I was in the middle of finishing a stained glass class. I absolutely was hooked! Breaking glass (intentionally) is incredibly therapeutic. Unfortunately for my creative process, it turns out that tiny apartments inhabited by two boys is NOT the place to set up a glass studio. It will happen though, I may just set up a shed in the backyard, now that I have one! So when my search fell upon terrariums, I immediately looked into glass boxes of the sort that Victorian era manors would use as mini greenhouses. SO gorgeous, and I am sure I could just whip one up!

The designs really can stretch as far as the imagination. I absolutely adore this steampunk inspired terrarium slash nightlight...

From Steamed Glass

 ...and this totally adorable one made from a Christmas tree ornament!

From In The Blue House

This one made the rounds last year and has been living in my inspiration files for quite some time...

Instructions HERE

So I think a new project is on the agenda. I just need to find a few fabulous apothecary jars, or some such thing...

 ...because let's face it, I simply cannot bring myself to use a mason jar like I should. (Not to mention, I have two sitting beside the sink.) Although, I do really love the look of the blue....

These Are Not Your Grandmother's... Uh... Rocks.

How adorable are these? Crocheted Love Stones from Stitch Happens on Etsy. A whimsical menagerie indeed! I would love to prop my door open when the weather gets warmer with a few of these... so sweet and simple, yet I love the intricacy of the designs.

 Doily, meet rock. Rock, meet doily... welcome to my garden... I could set up some lovely little tea parties and have them all just hanging around, looking darling. In fact, smaller ones would make adorable favours, or even place holders, no? Oh, the ideas just keep coming... and if you want to do something nice, you can purchase a set where the proceeds benefit the Earthquake Relief in Japan. How lovely!

T minus ZERO

It's SPRING!

Yesterday I went outside to see if the neighbour's dog was defecating once again in my driveway and four hours later I was still pulling dead wood out of the forest to build a "fence" around the lower bit of my yard that runs along the road. The different family members came out to take turns telling me how nuts I was and that if I thought that a four foot high wall of sticks was going to keep the four year old in check, I would need to add barbed wire. Little did D know that in fact I do intend to add a deterrent... how long do blackberries take to grow?

future garden party

 I am beyond excited to see the forest emerging from the snow, bit by bit. I really want to create useable space (for garden parties of course!) throughout the yard and while it has the potential to be beautiful and woodlandy, it is currently the unfortunate creation of too many past tenants who neglected to do anything but let the branches fall where they may. I found four year's worth of X Christmas trees, six bags of moss and yard waste buried under last year's maple leaves and the remnants of at least a few bear visits. "The Bear," which all of my neighbours have now told me about, apparently nicks the garbage in the area and holes up under the massive fir tree in the back corner of the property to indulge in old yogurt and stale bread... won't get into the nastier bits, this is a nice and happy Spring post... :) Going to have to do something about that though.

The high point of my day was finding the snowdrops peeking out from beneath the snow and leaves. Spring is truly here!

I have a few other Spring Fever thoughts. One is that I am intent on updating my wardrobe with the nicer weather. This whole concept of finding any part at all of my pre-child body is just going to have to give way to the fact that I have a crappy closet.

I just happen to have found a few happy pieces in the new Lilikoi Spring collection which fits my bill of local, eco, and GORGEOUS! I also might be a bit biased because the model she has used this time is just friggen' stunning. I may even have to do a red hair rinse and start wearing makeup again...

Another Spring thought, is that wedding season is once again upon us... so I have done some tweaking to the other blog. It used to be a NON-blog... essentially a place where I put stuff so that I had someplace to send people who were looking for info on the Celebration Quilts that I do. A recent setback in the social department left me with some time on my hands and the need to occupy my brain, so I have been diligently slogging away to rehabilitate my NON-blog into an actual blog. I can use it as a place to deposit those strange but intense needs to peruse and research that industry. Try as I might, I simply cannot get it out of my system. If you would like to give me some ideas or feedback, please do. I feel very OLD when I post wedding info because I have no idea how to include words like "adorbs" and "gorge" in my vocabulary. Nor am I able to commit to rhyming Shoesday with Tuesday. But I think I will be able to hold my own ;)

In the bridal department, there have been some very interesting ideas unfolding. Purely by accident, I was put into touch with the right people at the right time, and some VERY EXCITING things are in the works. Funny how life works like that. Sometimes you have to take something out of the equation to allow room for the new. Now, if only I could take care of that dog. Do you think capturing him and shaving him bald would teach the them a lesson? I hesitate to punish the dog for his owner's rudeness. Perhaps I will wait till the warmer weather for that...

Now You See It...

I have run into an issue with my studio and my EPIC party has been put on hold. I am fine with this because I have a million and one things to be getting done and thinking about pink pastries should not be topping the list. It will be a couple more weeks.


In the meantime, whilst diligently doing my eco research, I have run across this GORGEOUS artwork by Nicole Dextras. I ran across her visuals in a completely unrelated search on sustainable fabric dying and lo and behold, she turns out to be a graduate from our local art college, Kootenay School of the Arts! I come from Vancouver BC originally and am accustomed to high standards in most creative fields, (the west coast is pretty much saturated with stunning scenery and high profile artists flock like so many pigeons...) but can honestly say that the work that comes out of that school is really a cut above. Anyway, her open-to-the-public studio is on Granville Island which automatically gives her credence and as you can see in these photos, she is worth taking a look at so I plan to visit the next time I am in Van!


Nicole's work is ephemeral art, which means that it is by nature (no pun intended) made to be impermanent. The work is created, photographed and left to do it's thing. I am so taken by how such a simple idea can create such a lovely image, but then, simple is usually the most beautiful.

In her Iceworks collection, the folds of fabric and garments frozen in place or in blocks of ice create a stunning texture and "movement" and play of light.

That said, the detail in her Summer Weedrobe's layering of leaves, bark, flowers and twigs create a depth that leaves (oh, another one!) you with a glorious fairytale feeling.

So lovely!

You can see more and I believe purchase prints from her website here. I hope you like!

Head-lights.

Shhhh! I am being sneaky and blogging from a computer that I am not supposed to be on. So naughty! I am the only person on the planet who is actually good at crashing a mac. This would be my reason for being absent for what is seeming like forever... to me at least! I haven't had my computer for weeks now and it feels like an arm is missing...

I have been using my downtime (insert laughtrack here) to catch up on my other favorite activity, my magazine obsession. Always the most fun is British and Australian rags and I am just on Cloud 9 with all the hints of the Yule Season this year! (That is not PC, it's the word I have always used because I think it reads as a more well heeled and nature inspired version of Christmas.) I say hints because, strangely, what gets me all tingly are the sparkly candlesticks and trying to decide on a scheme for the abode.


This is not meant to be a post on Christmas decor, but it was this image which led me to the site of Honey & McAlpine where they have a rather interesting take on the trophy head trend that has been around this year. I quite like this idea although the prices are pretty steep. I like the garden sculptures as an ethereal ornament for all seasons, but the first one would make the most hauntingly beautiful focal point for outdoors in December. Not advocating the practice of blow up snomen and rooftop sleighs here AT ALL! We should get that straight. But I like this... and I like how the unadorned wire kudu disappear into the surroundings the way they would in real life. Like shadows.

Like It Was Only Yesterday.

I wish I was doing this right now... 

Today is the first day waking up to the soggy grey ick. How can it be this grey out when it was so spectacularly sunny yesterday? Should we not be allowed by the grace of nature to fall gradually into the darker time of the year? So I am returning us all to last weekend's fall fair in Harrop.

As a city girl turned cosmo-hick I am always saying that I live in the middle of nowhere, but in actual fact, Nelson is quite a happening little town. The REAL middle of nowhere is out past Harrop- real country life. 

I love it. I am all about prize chickens and dressed up zuccini as long as it isn't my responsibility to keep them alive. Don't get me wrong, I adore getting my hands dirty in the garden, I'm just still learning. And bugs freak me out. 

Here are the fruits (and veggies) of somebody else's labour...

Best dressed veggie table...

The card says "I want to be a pumpkin." Any veggie

sporting a hand felted pashmina is a clear winner.

Gorgeous fall blooms.

You can't see them clearly but this plant

 is covered in bees!

Everybody havin' a good time!

Photo credit: Sarah Grieve