Fiddleheadin'

The best sign of spring in my neck of the woods is the harvesting of fiddleheads from the soft, muddy banks of rivers and streams where the high water has receded. They are picked in a two week time frame usually when "the leaves are as big as a mouse's ear". I grew up harvesting fiddleheads at my family's secret spot (for the real fiddleheaders will never reveal where they pick). This year, the Munchkin got to go. She was so thrilled. The woods this time of year are so youthful and mysterious....if you tilt your head to the ground and hold your breath you can almost hear the ferns unfurling towards the sky. 

We tromped in knee high, fast moving water to reach the island while the tide was out. I carried a quietly curious Munchkin in my arms until we reached the bank. We were greeted by my father and his airdale, Harvey, who helps with the identification of fiddlehead bundles (and the snuffling of all small rodent burrows in the vicinity). Munchkin was taught to find and pick the right variety (for there are several and some can be toxic) of fern and we filled our buckets, wandering around the island for an hour. We splashed, slopped, and slipped and finally made our way across the stream and back to our car. 
 To clean fiddleheads, you need to get the brown flaky "skin" off from the outside. To do that, my father reccomends taking a sheet and laying it on the lawn and pour the fiddleheads out of the bucket and onto the sheet. As they fall the brown casing blows away in the wind. You do this a couple of times. Then, you take them inside and pop them into a pan and fill it with cold water, the brown casing will float up to the top and you can skim it off. 

To cook fiddleheads, the simplest way is to boil them in a couple of inches of water for at least 10 minutes and then drain them, add salt and pepper and some cider vinegar. Delicious!! I have also been told that they make a great quiche....try following a recipe for asparagus quiche but omit the asparagus and add the fiddleheads. They actually taste quite a bit like asparagus, though there is a deeper woodsy, nutty flavor to the fiddlehead. 

After I came back from fiddleheadin', it occured to me that the shape of the fern is actually quite a lot like the curled cloth flowers I see in so many blogs recently. So, I tried my hand at fiddlehead fronds.

Here's how you do it;

For the longer ferns you need two types of fabric, the outer stem and the inner fern (now, let us all reach deep inside ourselves and access out inner fern....oooommm............). You essentially fold the outer edges (which have been trimmed to be tapered to make it easier to curl) of the stem in and fit the ferny piece in the middle. I distressed the outer edge of my inner fern with scissors, but don't worry, its saw its counselor and is feeling much better today. ;-)

Start spiraling the whole thing up and pin it for a second while you get some matching thread and an embroidery needle and stitch it together to hold it.

 Stitch the stem you have leftover as well if you are making a longer fiddlehead.

Make some more, if you'd like. Me? I liked. 

I laid them out on a piece of fabric fit to the inset of a picture frame and used a simple stitch to attach them on.

Isn't my stitching just *marvelous*. You should see my embroidery. No, wait. Don't. :-)

Then I painted the wooden frame a nice muddy, schloppy, riverbank brown.

I waited for it to dry, fitted the fiddlehead fabric onto the picture inset and VOILA. It's the height of Fiddlehead Fashion.

I linked to these wonderful parties!!

Check them out and be inspired!!

Get Your Craft On
Strut Your Stuff Thursday
Thrifty Thursday 
Get Your Craft On 
Works For Me Wednesday 
Tip Me Tuesday
Do It Yourself Day 
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Making The World Cuter Monday 

  
  
  

  
        


  

A Fairy Bower

 Fairy elves,

          Whose midnight revels, by a forest side

Or fountain, some belated peasant sees,

Or dreams he sees, while overhead the moon

Sits arbitress.

~John Milton

I spent some time the past day making some little Elf homes to adorn our herb garden and to encourage my Munchkins imagination. These were SO simple to do.

Supplies:

Large Rock (with a flat side)

Wood

Stik All Glue

Hinge and Screws

Paint

Small Hook

Thread

Wooden Knob (for lantern....or chimney too)

Clear Acrylic Spray

Tools Required:

Jig Saw

Paint Brush

Screw Driver

Take some wood and use the jig saw to make a door shape. You could do any shape you'd like: round (hobbit door-shaped), rectangle (modern), pointed (for the elf look), or triangle (just because you're weird). :-) I'm mortified to say that I used a beautiful piece of Cherry wood that I found in our barn....I thought it was just a nice piece of oak, but no. I was mistaken. Oh, boy was I EVER mistaken (according to my husband and my father). Jeesh. Well, it turned out lovely anyway. ;-)

Now it's time to sketch. Make a quick sketch with pencil (lightly) of what you'd like to paint....or, go right ahead and free-hand it with a paintbrush if you are feeling bold. 

 Paint away!! You should paint the accessories too. To give my doors a more aged look I took a wet paper towel and dipped in it some black paint and lightly sponged the entire door.

Once they're dry you can screw the hinge onto the side and bend the remaining hinge back behind the door. Then, glue the door to the rock securely. 

Almost there!! The glue will need to set for at least 24 hours. You can make the lantern by tying some black thread around the little wooden bobble and securing it to the hook (which has been glued onto the rock as well). If you would rather make a chimney, you can just dab some glue on the flat end of the bobble and stick 'er right on top of that rock. To make it more weather proof, you could coat it with some clear acrylic spray (just be sure to cover the rock behind with something so that you don't spray that too). I made two different doors just to try out some of my ideas. Here is the other door, finished with chimney:

I know I was forever imagining these kinds of dwellings when I was a child. Nature provides us with so much to encourage the imagination. I know my Munchkins reaction to this will be to fill the day with stories of the people who live in the dwelling next to the chives and sage. There will be food gathered for their lunch and a nap time announced as well. They are going to be prospering in our herb garden for sure!!!!

Check out these linky parties for some great ideas!!!!
Just Something I Whipped Up
Making the World Cuter Monday 
Made By You Monday
Made It Monday 
Market Yourself Monday 
Do It Yourself Day 
Trash To Treasure 
Talented Tuesday 
Take A Look Tuesday 
DIY Project Parade 
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday's  
Tip Me Tuesday 
Get Your Craft On 
Metamorphosis Monday 
Works For Me Wednesday
Show Us What You're Working With 
Penny Pinching Party 
Boardwalk Bragfest 
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Strut Your Stuff Thursday
Get Your Craft On Thursday 
Flaunt It Friday
Frugalicious Friday 
Feature Yourself Friday
Plant A Punkin Seed Party 
Look At Me I'm So Crafty
Saturday Nite Special
Favorite Things Friday
Frugal Friday
Under $100 Linky Party 
Friday Favorites
It's Hodgepodge Friday 
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Sunday Showcase Party
Making The World Cuter 
Just Something I Whipped Up
Made It Monday
Market Yourself Monday 
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays 
Get Your Craft On
Metamorphosis Monday 
Made By You Monday 
Just Something I Whipped Up 
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Saturday Nite Special  

   
     
     
     

  




 

The Easy and Pleasant Life

"The Inhabitants of Carolina, thro' the Richness of the Soil, live an easy and pleasant Life."

~John Lawson 

Our first vacation with the Munchkin was a complete success. We spent a week on the beach in South Carolina and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It also helped to jump start the spring for us Northerners (though, I'm currently in sandy beach/sundress withdrawal). I took lots of pictures and even did some sandy crafting. We went to a gorgeous botanical garden, spent part of every day lounging on the beach, ate some grits, and saw some gators. I even discovered my inner Kookaburra at a local zoo.  Here is a brief photo recap:

We flew. 

We found the beach.

We built with an intention to fail.

  We gathered.

We connected with our inner Kookaburra.

We sculpted mermaids.

We were thankful we did not have these back home.

We wandered in a garden.

We were jealous of the rosemary (and in awe of the buns). 

We giggled at a piggle.

We found tranquility.

 We intend to return. :-) 

 

Mimi's Gift

My Munchkin's Mimi (and my Mother-in-Law) will be celebrating her birthday today at our house. I found a fastastic antique egg scale for her on Ebay and to go with it I made a few things. The wreath above, for one. Here it is in the making:

It was just a plain wicker wreath I found at Goodwill for .99 but I think the yarn turned it into to something a little more stylish. I used beige homespun yarn I found at a lawn sale this past summer and wrapped it nice and tight. Then I made some little cotton flowers to adorn the wreath. The bead in the center of the flowers is a leftover one from my Bead Bling post this past December. Clink the link if you'd like a tutorial on how to make the beads. :-) Here are the flowers being assembled:

I just used some embroidery thread of a similar color and stitched the strip of cotton together (with the bead in the middle) and then sewed it onto the wreath. Moving on!! Here is the egg scale:

I love it. Basically, I love any old farm antique. They have so much character and they are always so well-loved. And, well-used. I made the egg out of sculpey and painted it with acrylics based on a image of a Murre's egg from the book, Eggs by Marilyn Singer. 

To buy the book click here. There are some *really* gorgeous illustrations in this book and a lot of great information too. For instance, did you know that the Murre egg is shaped more tapered than the regular egg so that it will roll in a circle (and not right of the cliff, where all the Murre's nest)??

Anywho. I made a little stamped card using cotton paper and some stamps I found at, you guessed it, Goodwill. Most people shop there for clothes.....I go there for CRAFTS. :-)

All in all, I thought the present turned out pretty nice. I love making gifts for people!!

Enjoy your Weekend!!
I joined up with these Linky Parties, check them out!! I guarantee inspiration!!!!
Saturday Nite Special 
Weekend Wrap Up Party 
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Look At Me Party
Feature Yourself Friday  
Check Me Out Saturday 
Make It For Monday  
Just Something I Whipped Up
Making The World Cuter Monday 
Made By You Monday
Market Yourself Monday 
Made It Monday 
The DIY Showoff 
Talented Tuesday 
Do It Yourself Day 
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays
Show Us What You're Working With
Works For Me Wednesday
Penny Pinching Party 
BoardWalk Bragfest 
Flaunt It Friday 
Frugalicious Friday 
Feature Yourself Friday 
Saturday Nite Special 
Plant A Punkin Seed Party 

   

  

Iris Folding

 This is Katahdin. He was one of the first cards I ever made using Iris Folding. He was also my first cat. A big all-outdoor cat who would eat squirrels (except the tails....because really, who would eat a tail when you can have raw entrails?!?!). I would find big, grey squirrel tails from time to time on the lawn. I never really understood him. But, I knew enough to keep him far away from my Munchkin because, seriously, he tended to Stalk and (obviously) he had an appetite. He ran away this past fall, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had set up his own Squirrel burger cafe somewhere out in the woods behind our house.

I digress: Iris Folding is a craft that on the surface appears to be quite complicated, but when you actually give it a try you realize how very simple it is in reality.  I found this great site with a basic tutorial and free templates here .

For my Munchkins first birthday I made this card:

It's really a lot of fun to make these. All you need is an:

Exacto Knife

Cardstock

Decorative paper (origami paper works well, too) 

Tape 

Template (you can make your own easily enough)

For instructions (with pictures) on how to do a basic template....which will give you an idea on how to do *any* template....click here.

Here is where you can find some free templates (in the center of the page there is a tab for Alphabet templates.....I can really imagine some fun children's room decorations coming out of those). There are some simplistic templates ones here.

Have FUN!! Happy CRAFTING!!

I joined these Linky Parties:

Show and Tell 

Penny Pinching Party 

Creative Therapy
Make It Yours Day
Show Us What You're Workin' With
Whatever Goes Wednesday
We Did It Wednesday
Thirfty Thursday
Under $100 Linky Party
Get Your Craft On
Bring in the Spring Blog Party
Thursday's Treasures
Strut Your Stuff
Feature Yourself Friday
Look at Me I'm So Crafty
It's HodgePodge Friday
Frugalicious Friday
I'm a Creative Cat
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Saturday Nite Special
Flaunt It Friday
Check Me Out Saturday
Make It For Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up

Making The World Cuter Monday
Made By You Monday
Market Yourself Monday
Made It Monday
The DIY Showoff
Talented Tuesday
Do It Yourself Day
Show Us What You're Working With
Works For me Wednesday
Penny Pinching Party
BoardWalk Bragfest
Flaunt It Friday
Frugalicious Friday
Feature Yourself Friday
Plant A Punkin Seed Party

1949 Birth Announcement

Isn't this the cutest little Birth Announcement?!?! It belongs to my Mother-in-Law. She was born in 1949, a daughter of a pilot from WWII. I love those little goggles on the baby and the little Avaiator cap. 

The Announcement says:

THE ARRIVAL OF A NEW MODEL

Pilot

Co-pilot

Flight Captain Doc

Passenger

Weight____ lbs_____oz

Arrived on

INSPECTION INVITED

What a great Birth Announcement for an avid aviator. :-) This is a Hallmark. I thought maybe some of you might be interested in spinning your own idea off this card.
Here are the Linky Parties I joined up with.....check them out!!
Just Something I Whipped Up 
Making the World Cuter Monday 
Made By You Monday 
Market Yourself Monday 
Make Your Monday 
Make It For Moday