Looking good, but needs a gnome

If not a gnome, some other little nicknack, maybe a little red mushroom, an owl, or deer...


I started this little moss terrarium a couple weeks ago after reading through this post, which has lots of cute pictures and great information throughout. I found this jar at a thrift store, and thought it would be perfect! Kade and I took a walk to collect our little specimens.... rocks from the road by our house, 3 different kids of moss, and a cute little lichen... baby fern??... that I had to practically climb a tree for. Surprisingly, the hardest thing to find was soil. We finally used a stick to dig a hole in the hard pebbly ground, and a couple inches down was some nice damp soil. We carried everything back home in our pockets, with our hands stained green and dirt under our fingernails.

That was the fun part for Kade. I can't wait to see it in a couple more months, once it starts really growing. Once it was all put together (I think maybe I used too much soil?), I excitedly showed it to Kade, who shrugged his shoulders and said, "it's not doing anything. It's bored."
I think maybe a little miniature character to live in this mossy forest would spark his interest and imagination. Any ideas where to get such a thing?

I'm thinking it would be REALLY fun to make these for Christmas presents... I just don't know if it's the kind of thing certain people would appreciate. I know some that would, but a few I am not sure of. I don't want them to think, "thanks so much for the old jar of dirt and weeds". Some people might not get it, you know?

OK, so my terrarium isn't looking that beautiful yet, but here are some I found on Etsy which I am SO tempted to buy! I want them so badly! I could cover every windowsill, table top, and bookshelf with these... there are even ones to hang up on a wall or wear around your neck!! Take a look at some of my favorites:

Terrarium Pendant from WarmCountryMeadows
Vintage casserole dish terrarium from madebymavis

Hanging Terrarium from TheOakLeaves

***Thanks for all the Spider-Monkey love yesterday!! The guy is going to pick it up tomorrow, and I'm so excited for him to see it that I might just scream and throw it at him as he comes through the door. Or I could wrap it in 15 layers of tissue, newspaper, wrapping paper, kraft paper, plastic wrap, duct tape, and 4 boxes... just to build up the anticipation. "HAHA! You thought you were finally going to see it, but NOPE, it's the Sunday comics!!! How crazy is that?!?!?" Or, maybe I'll just casually say, "what? Oh yeah, that thing I made for you. I had forgotten. Here ya go," and then sit back down at the computer to look at the new LOLcats.

10 things I do for fun...

...which may or may not be considered fun by anyone else:

1. Sew. Doesn't matter if it's a project for me, for my shop, for a customer... it's fun to have something to work on!


2. Listen to music. Right now, I LOVE Regina Spektor!



3. Scrapbook. I like to go slow (hmm maybe that's why I haven't even completed my wedding album yet...). I take a long time looking at all my pictures, finding ones that inspire me to scrapbook at that particular moment, look through hundreds of saved files of layouts to glean ideas, go through all my papers to find just the right ones, re-position all my photos again and again... it's like therapy for me!



4. Drive. Sometimes when I've had a long day I like to go for a quick drive by myself. I turn my music way up, drive down to the park less than a mile away from my house, maybe take a sketchbook or cell phone, and hang out by myself for a while.

5. LOLcats. http://icanhascheezburger.com/ ... I'm probably too addicted to that site.



6. Call a friend. 'Nuff said.

7. Surf the internet. I am a pro! I usually like to read craft sites, other blogs, news, helpful "tips" websites about sewing, parenting, cooking, etc.

8. Play with my kid. Just yesterday I went down the slide 4 times :) I also think it's a riot to play puppets with him- he can carry on 3 characters all on his own- talent. Building tinker-toys, train tracks, marble tracks, and watching Peter Pan... it's fun to be a kid.


9. Letterbox. Have you ever heard of it? Stamps, treasure hunts, navigation, clues, secret hiding spots, sneakiness, adrenaline, determination... you must try it!


10. Sleep. Yes, this is fun to me! Sleep isn't something I take for granted. It's a real treat when I get a good block of sleep in. (Maybe this means I'm just lazy? No, I would be lazy if I slept all the time. WANTING to sleep, and rarely getting to do so, is not lazy at all! Just... pathetic!) So comfy, so warm, and I feel so great when I wake up! Sounds like a pretty good idea right now... goodnight!

Scallywag Makeup Bag

Here's something I made for a friend today!

If you want to make one, here is a super wonderful, easy to follow tutorial:

Straight Sided Triangular Cosmetic Bag Tutorial

I used some fabric that was on clearance for $1/yard, and for the inside I used picnic table cloth stuff -... waterproof, easy to clean up makeup spills!! :) The only problem with that is now I can't iron the bag! At least I ironed the fabric before I sewed it.


So, what crafty things (or not) have you finished today?
Now that I have the bag done, I am going to go work on a wholesale order.... today I'm sewing on 40 little eyeballs! Lots of little eyeballs!