Strawberry Vacation

Mmmmm, the kids and I celebrated their first day of summer vacation by going to the local You-Pick strawberry farm by Mt Pisgah. It's out of town, feels like "the country", at the You Pick farm. PLUS you can smell the ripe strawberries as soon as you step out of the car. The kids picked so heartily this year, we brought home more than I expected. In case you've never picked your own strawberries, I should tell you that you go in the morning before it's too hot out, and are allowed to eat as you pick! They must factor that into the price. And ripe strawberries make a satisfying POP sound when you separate them from the vine. These berries were amazingly large.

I stayed up late to make three batches of jam in my cute vintage jars. Don't you love these? Perfect for freezer jam. They take up room in there, but I LIKE freezer jam because the strawberries are not cooked down, thus retain all possible flavor and color. MMMmm!

I thought the kids would be pleased by the fresh jam for their toast in the morning, but they both complained that I made jam without them. :-)

I took a few days off from the studio in order to have a yard sale. It's great to shed unneeded things, let alone clear the whole storage space. Thanks so much, Adrienne! AND I got ten neighbors to have a yard sale on the same day. I think it's so fun to park and walk to several sales in a row like that. With the price of gas, I noticed many more bicyclers and moped riders.

The kids had a lemonade and cookie stand and made $12.

BUT I missed my creative time in the studio! I'm back tomorrow. Back and badder than ever.......

xoxoxoxoxo

Coffee Monsters

I'm thrilled to find my work in this collection along with some artists i've marked in MY FAV's list! Thanks so much!

Meet Your Maker Indie Craft Show!

Here we are at the Meet Your Maker June show, at Midtown Wine bar. It's a GREAT venue and lots of fun. Nice to get out of the studio and sell in person, meet other artists/crafters, and visitors.

Franks and Beans, I was pleased to find out, makes a great living spinning, dying and selling her beautiful yarns. I drooled over them all evening!


You can just see my display in this photo. So lit from the back! I brought my coffee "stand", little bags, and teapot with flowers to go with my teakettle art bags.

One of the best things, was finding my "Hey Banana Breath" chosen to be the ad for the show in the Eugene Weekly. Nice! Thanks so much.

I need to make a nice, big vendor's sign for my table.


Ashly of Bullfight showing off her amazing undies made of recycled tshirts. Ok, I bought one of these undies...... and I'm going to need another. They are so comfortable! Look so cute, I could mow the lawn in them (well the backyard maybe), wear great under clothes, and stay up without squeezing! Love them! You must get some! And I'm certain you need a magnetic moustache for your fridge photos to go with.


My new Tea Kettle art bag. Can be used or displayed. It comes with real lavender sachet disguised as a tea bag, and bean bag weight to hold bag upright if the bag is meant for a shelf display. I have two, and one will go onto my etsy shop tomorrow.

Back side of bag. Backing fabric and inside made of vintage American cotton. Lavender sachet "tea bag" seen here.

xoxo

Garden Wednesday

Good Deeds and Good Deals

I'll be in this month's Meet Your Maker show on Saturday!  Local friends, please come visit!

On another topic:

My good deed for the day?  

The kids and I spotted a mother duck escorting her NINE tiny ducklings across the supermarket parking lot.  Right across the three lane driveway next to a busy street!  

Why was she there?  Where was her mate?  The only thing we did know is that she was probably making her way to the canal.  We put on our super hero capes and came to her rescue.  Good thing too, with three business driveways to cross, through a parking lot, AND a crow coming after them, they clearly needed our help.  And of course I'm the super mother duck watching the duck family AND my five and eight year olds amongst the cars.  We scared the crow off after a few tries, and hand helped the smallest ducklings up over the curbs.  Mother duck seems to appreciate the help.   We escorted her all the way to the canal.  HOpe she stays there!  

"No Paper or Plastic, please!" Heavenly Market Bags

Fact: one million plastic bags are being consumed on this planet every minute!  Yuck.  

Good news fact:  every cloth bag made has the potential of saving 100's of plastic bags from coming into use.  Buy my market bags, or read on to learn how to make your own.

Check out this scenario:

You have your list, your grocery cart, and are happily shopping.  You reach the produce section and are thinking," Yea it's burrito night, I need some fresh tomatoes and avocado....".  Passing right by that cluster of people pulling plastic bags off the role, you pull out your fav David Bowie concert t-shirt shopping bag and load or produce gently into the soft cotton.  

At the check-out stand, they ask, "Paper or plastic?" and you answer, "Neither, I have my cloth bags" and you hand over three up-cycled t-shirt bags that fit right into the cashier's plastic bag loading slot.  The world stops just for a moment, "NICE...." sighs the cashier, and proceeds to fill your t-shirt tote bags with groceries.

Back at home, you carry the bags in, happy to have that soft cloth in your hands, rather than pinchy plastic or tearing paper.  You unload your fresh produce and roll the bags up, placing them all inside the smallest one, and set the soft parcel on top of the fridge for next trip.  

Up-cycled t-shirt market bags are the way to go!  Washable, sustainable, beautiful!

--MAKE YOUR OWN-- the how-to section--

 

Today's how-to is a great recycled cotton tote bag called the MorsBag.  It's more than a bag, it's a movement!  Check out this great website:  Morsbag.  You can download the pdf pattern to make yours, OR watch it made in animation directions!

Invisible Arms

My French Press coffee pot cozy made this collection from Oregon artists. I should write that tutoral on using the French press.  Makes amazing coffee at home.  To do list...... 

I'm completely fascinated with purses, bags, and pouches right now.  My studio is amuck with zippers and little squares.  I try NOT to use rulers in the studio, not because I don't like them, but because I like to hand cut.  I like the look of natural lines and curves and made up sizes and shapes.  But for little lined bags?  It's back to the ruler.  Actually, I probably use a ruler more than I think I do.  I probably have an extra set of arms, one that holds the see through ruler, and one that works the circular cutting blade.  THAT's how things get done around here!  Ha, I've figured it out.  While I'm busy playing with fabric, sketching, and thinking up lovely things to make for the inhabitants of the world, my invisible arms actually MAKE the stuff!  Mystery solved.  

Much love to all