Shop Crush - Anita's Gatos

I'm not sure how I first came across these super adorable little animal totems, but I'm pretty smitten with them.  Each of these little handmade and hand-painted animals has their own virtues and characteristics.  I'm having a hard time deciding which one best fits my personality, but I'm leaning towards one of the owls.  Get your own totem at Anita's Gatos!  Their creator, Ana, has a pretty great blog too so be sure to also check that out!

Necklaces

Sometimes I just like making really simple things that don't involve a lot of time or preparation.  Usually jewelry fits that mold for me.  I also like finding new purpose for vintage supplies.  This is what I like to call my "everything is jewelry" movement. Vintage baby toys, doll parts, plastic toy silverware, and dollhouse furniture have all been given new lives as pendants.  I've been making cake toppers into brooches and pendants as well.  There's no stopping me from turning everything into jewelry!

Musical Monday

My love for Andrew McMahon goes way back to Something Corporate and then to Jack's Mannequin. I've seen both live, can remember following Andrew's battle with cancer, and have quite a few raggedy old tees I've bought at shows.  To say I have a soft spot for the guy and his music is an understatement.  His voice and lyrics tend to move me to tears anytime I see him perform live.  I actually just missed him playing in Baltimore earlier this month.  I've been listening to this song in my car and singing along at the top of my lungs lately!

Odds and Ends

Game of Thrones

I think I'm going through withdrawal from the lack of Game of Thrones currently in my life.  I know I can't be the only one missing those dysfunctional Lannisters or the seriously kick ass Brienne, so here's a little fix!

These are all prints from the super talented Nan Lawson and available in her shop, along with so many other great pieces!

Teeny Tiny Teacups

In yesterday's post, I mentioned teacup scenes.  Buying random lots of vintage children's dishes to add to my collection of tin tea sets has resulted in a surplus of random odds and ends and multiples of many dishes.  I hang the plates on the wall of my craft room, but I never really know what to do with teacups.  Here's what I came up with!

I've been stocking up on cups and miniature animals now.  Expect more of these in the future!

Toadstools

You've probably seen these mushrooms at your local craft or floral supply store, mixed in with other plastic foods and greenery.  I'm thinking mine came in a box of handed down craft supplies.  They aren't the cutest, but I kept them thinking I could find some use for them.  With a little imagination and some paint, I finally came up with something!

Using only red and white paint, I turned the mushrooms into toadstools.  Using a permanent black marker, I drew on a cute face and then added a floral stamen for a nose.  Those are another thrifted find I've been holding onto for some time!

These make great noses and come in so many colors and sizes!  The larger ones are on wire stem and are easy to push into the mushroom.  The smaller stamen are a bit flimsy, so I used a pushpin to poke a hole for the nose and then a dab of glue to hold the stamen in place.

You can easily make these into ornaments using eye screws and ribbon, as I did with the top toadstools, or you can add them to terrariums or use them for crafting.  I plan on using the bottom toadstool in a little teacup scene!

Musical Monday

I'll admit that I am totally late to the game with this one.  I've been hearing lots about Haim, but have somehow avoided hearing them at all until recently.  I've remedied that and have their album on heavy rotation now!  Enjoy!

Storybook Forest

Way back in June, we went to Idlewild for Benny's birthday.  I posted photos from the trip, but forgot all about my very favorite part!  Storybook Forest is so lovely.  It makes for a great break from the rest of the park and has a way of making you feel like you are in an entirely different place.  I could have spent all day here admiring the details and adorable houses!

I'd love to explore more old attractions like this!  Are there any where you live?  Check out the blog, Enchanted Kiddieland for tons of great photos and info on tons of great children's parks and attractions, including Storybook Forest. Maybe you'll find some place new to visit!

Business Cards

I finally got business cards for my shop and I am so tickled with their cuteness!  I couldn't have done these without help from Heidi.  I need to give her lots and lots of credit and thanks, because other than finding the adorable vintage images, she did most of the work!  The cards are double-sided, so there are actually just three different ones.  The cards in the upper right hand corner are actually magnets which I thought would be fun to include in orders, along with some little candies and stickers.  I ordered the cards and magnets from Overnight Prints, a site with reasonable prices and lots of choices.  I feel like this little hobby is officially a business now and I've even applied for my first craft show.  Cross your fingers I get in!

Plush Of The Month Club

Was anyone else as excited as I was that Heidi decided to do a plush of the month club?!  I know she's been thinking about it for some time, so I'm glad to see it's off to such a great start.  This was the first month and the plush is the adorable grilled cheese pictured above.  All the other goodies came along as a welcome kit and fun extras.  I can't wait to be surprised each month!  Find out how you can join the club here!

Earth laughs in flowers...

The title of this post is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Judging from these photos, I think our yard is full of laughter!

Musical Monday

There isn't actually going to be any music in today's post, but music is still the subject!  I love making playlists and mixes and especially love making mixes to share with others.  I thought I'd share a few suggestions for making mixes and a really simple diy for a cute envelope to hold a CD.  All you need is some card stock or scrapbook paper, washi or deco tape, and maybe some stickers for decoration.  When I make a mix, I usually like to decorate the CD itself with markers and include a handwritten track list on some fun stationary.

Cute supplies are a must!

My paper choices.  You need two pieces, each about 6x6 inches.

Add washi tape to the sides and bottom, folding it over to connect the two pieces of paper.

It's all ready for a CD and track list!

Sometimes my mixes are really random, but a themed mix can be fun!  I recently included a mix in my crafternoon white elephant gift that was all female bands and singers and I keep meaning to make a hip hop mix for a friend.  Think of songs that sort of transition well into each other and if you're doing a completely random mix, vary upbeat songs with slower ones so there aren't too many of one type in a row.  Clearly there's no right or wrong way to make a mix and I'm no expert, so just go with what sounds good!

Steinhatchee Falls

This was really such a great place to end our weekend together!  The water around the falls is fairly shallow and there are little grooves and nooks in the riverbed where rocks and debris collect and settle.  Have you ever seen the shows about people who catch catfish by sticking their hands in the water and just sort of pulling them out on their arms?  Well that's called noodling and is essentially what we did, although there were no catfish involved!  Instead, we found fossils, shark and alligator teeth, tiny sand dollars, and petrified turtle shells.  I have this thing about swimming in rivers, so I stayed in the shallow part and just relaxed with the water flowing around me.  Some of the other gals did swim and even swung into the river from a rope, but I was content just watching.

I'm really so very glad that I didn't let my anxiety prevent me from experiencing this weekend.  I sort of feel like I can tackle anything now!  I had an amazing weekend, made new friends, and got to really relax and unwind.  Can't wait to do it again!

The Road to Nowhere

Camp Tumbleweeds Part Two

There was such a laid back vibe all weekend and I thought it was cool that there wasn't any sort of rigid schedule.  We started Saturday off with a delicious breakfast of southern style eggs benedict, fresh fruit and smoothies, and mimosas and then headed to a local flea market.  The flea market was great, definitely one of those places where you could find some serious treasure if you looked hard enough and there was a stall selling donuts, so it smelled amazing too!

After the flea market, we headed to Fanning Springs to cool off in the loveliest clear turquoise water.  I only had my phone to take photos, but I wish I had gotten more.  There was a little place for us to jump into the deep part of the springs and although there were a lot of people there, it never really felt crowded.  Beca said they see manatees there pretty often, but we only got to see a snake in the water.  That was pretty neat, but somehow the snake just didn't seem as open to hugs as I imagine manatees are.  It was probably too darn crowded for manatees!

We had a yummy little picnic lunch at Steinhatchee Falls, I'll share pictures of the falls tomorrow, and then set off in canoes and kayaks for a trip on the river.  I shared a canoe with Beca, who was probably cursing me under her breath for being a rookie rower.  I haven't been in a canoe since I was a child!  Luckily the river was pretty calm and easy to navigate. We caught a brief glimpse of an alligator getting in the water and a turtle sunning itself on a log.  There are some homes along the river, but most of the trip felt pretty secluded and peaceful.  We stopped off at Beca and Doug's home where we got to meet their pups and a few of their kitties.  Their dog, Charlie, joined us for the rest of the boat ride back.

I started to feel a little overheated on the river and I knew I probably hadn't gotten enough water, so I ended up getting sick and having to skip dinner and the campfire that evening.  I did get to take a few of Beca's homemade marshmallows home to eat, though!  I heard that there were delicious grilled kebabs and corn on the cob and that the marshmallows really melted nicely on the s'mores, but I'm just going to go ahead and keep telling myself that everything tasted awful and everyone was just too sad without me to enjoy themselves even a little. 

Camp Tumbleweeds

Maps to our home for the weekend!

I think I should start this post by thanking my sweet friends and family members who put up with my ridiculous anxiety over this trip, because there were definitely some moments of panic over spending a weekend away with strangers.  Everyone reassured me that it would be fine and I would have fun, but that doesn't even begin to explain the amazing time I had or the amazing people I got to spend that time with.  I'm going to break up the weekend into a few posts, because I took loads of pictures and we did so much!  I'll start off with the beautiful home where we stayed.  It was right along the river, so we had an amazing view!

See those great huge windows?!  That room is where we ate breakfast, so we always had the river as our backdrop.

I could have definitely spent more time swinging on the pier!

We paddled almost seven miles on this river!

There ended up being just five of us campers and the ever so awesome Beca and Doug.  I seriously cannot say enough good things about them!  Being welcomed by a hug from Beca, I instantly felt at ease like hugging an old friend.  The other ladies were great too and I think we all felt pretty comfortable with each other right away.  We all stayed up until 2am chatting on the first night!  It was truly a weekend where we did so much, but somehow always managed to stay pretty relaxed.  It was just what I needed after feeling so anxious and being a little burnt out on work.  Stay tuned for more from the weekend, but for now, I'll leave you with a photo of the feast Beca prepared for us on our first night.  Prepare to drool!!

grilled pizzas, cucumber basil salad, pickled okra, pickled beets, and lemonade-all so yummy!