Curious Bird

:nothing to it:

Well, folks, I'll admit it. A while back I jumped on the hanging planter bandwagon. What a simple thing to make and the completed project is very satisfying indeed, so I think I'll stay put on this particular bandwagon for a while.

Just some string or twine or whatever you have really, a keyring or another type of gizmo for hardware; although, you can just do a loop at the top instead, and about 15 minutes from start to finish. Can't beat that, right?  Turned out better than my first attempt making fruit leather, that's for sure.

Posts from around the web I found helpful:

How-to by Skinny Laminx

Tutorial from Refinery 29

Happy Making!

-L.

pleased as punch

Eons ago I did a wonderful photography swap with my friend Molly. She kindly asked if I would be open to her hanging a couple of my holga shots in Delancey, the restaurant she and her husband Brandon own in Seattle. It was such an honor to be asked and I of course said YES.

Now fast forward a couple of years...

I still haven't had the pleasure of going to Seattle to meet Molly in person and eat at Delancey, but I assure you I would love to do both of those things very much. However, I do get to have a couple of her beautiful photos hanging in my home, which makes me very happy. Thank you, Molly!

More soon,

Leya

 

I made a *big* wreath

Hi there,

We're back. We had a fantastic visit with several wonderful friends. Felt great to be there and it feels great to be home. I consider that a pretty nice thing, as it's always great to take a trip and enjoy it the whole time and feel just as happy and content upon returning home. Of course I still need to get my photos and thoughts about the trip organized, so for now all I can give you is the homemade wreath I made from our excess Christmas tree branches. I'm normally not that into wreaths -- I've never made one before now and never felt that jazzed by the idea. But living somewhere with holly and pinecones and other little bits of nature all around made it much more appealing. So a wreath was made and I quite like it. Dustin has made a little fun of how big it is, and you know, he's right. But I like that about it, too.

More soon, 
L.

twinkle twinkle

Okay, deep breath. What a zinger of a weekend we just had. The entire family came down with a nasty virus. It hit us one by one. Dustin was walloped first, then Felix, and finally me. I hated being last in line waiting for the yuckiness to hit. But even more I hated having to sit by and watch my two guys feel so bad. Luckily, it was short-lived and we recovered in time to spend Sunday picking out and decorating our Christmas tree. We really went for it and got ourselves a big one. A big, a-m-a-z-i-n-g smelling Christmas tree. Yes indeed. So far, we've noticed Felix has an interesting approach to tree trimming. He seems to prefer the tree to be without ornaments on the lower 18 inches or so. According to him the ornaments look best scattered on the floor underneath. Who am I to argue...I've only had table-top trees until now.

Pre-tree crabbiness





All we need now is one more stocking and a tree topper and we'll be golden.

Cheers!

so it begins

pulling the holiday decorations out of the basement today. the house is starting to shimmer and twinkle.

perhaps a tree this weekend? we'll see.

hope you're finding some shimmer out there today.

-l.

presto chango

The time had come for my dining room chairs to get a much needed makeover. Definitely one of the simplest projects there is, and so very satisfying.

In case you're curious the old fabric is vintage and the new fabric is by Waverly.

Be well,

Leya

11.11.11

we've been trying to spend as much time as possible on our front porch these days because we know it's going to get cold in the coming months and being out there won't be near as fun. front porch coloring parties in the middle of winter just don't sound that appealing, ya know?  but coloring parties during these beautiful days of fall are perfect. just me and the little guy. there was also lots of noticing reflections in the front door. it was grand, and I am so grateful.

happy 11.11.11.
make a wish!

l.

let the sun shine in

this project has been in my head for months. I ordered the sunprint paper and purchased the frames before leaving Philly, but had to wait until we landed in our new home and got somewhat settled before I could move it to the top of my to-do list.

the best part for me was gathering all the leaves and vines from my yard and sitting down to decide what I wanted to use in each of the prints. it was also pretty nice to be able to do this project from start to finish during one of felix's naps (he typically takes two one-hour naps every day). of course, I almost broke a piece of glass and the paper nearly ripped as I washed it and hung it to dry (clumsy!), but in the end everything came together just fine.

I've done smaller sunprints before (these are 24x36) and have always had so much fun with the whole process. this time was no different, and now I get to see the vines and leaves I gathered out back "growing" in our living room.

have a sunny tuesday,

leya

in the nick of time

although we cut it fairly close, we managed to get our fall garden planted (once again, thanks to Gigi for being on toddler patrol). there is lots more to do, but if everything goes as planned we'll have kale, chard, a variety of lettuces, beets, radishes and broccoli in the coming months. when I get a few minutes to daydream I can't quit thinking about roasted root veggies with a little cinnamon or all the great soups I want to make. all in due time. now we wait.

I will definitely post about how things progress garden-wise. meanwhile, I'm off to do more research and more thinking about protection, both from frost and the critters looking to eat all my lettuce! writing that makes me think of this song (a Felix favorite).

kinda forgot how much fun it can be to have a backyard.

more soon, friends
leya

in view

as promised, here's a peek at the other creation by Pigeon Toe Ceramics I received as a gift recently. it's a little test tube vase that currently hangs in my kitchen window. such a sweet way to have a few flowers in sight, and I don't know about you, but I spend quite a lot of time at my kitchen window. doing dishes, daydreaming about what soup/baked good/dinner/dessert I want to make, watching out for the cardinal that is often perched on the fence nearby, or sometimes even taking a couple of deep breaths when the day is one that requires deep breaths. flowers are always nice to have in view.

thanks again for the great gifts, mom. and thanks to my sweet husband for cluing her in on something handmade that I would certainly treasure.

be well out there, 
l.