bee creative

new beginnings...being creative

This is my newest project.  It was a very sad discovery when I opened the front door last Saturday morning, but it's also an opportunity.   I'm going to be moving my fence back further into the front garden and then will plant a strip in front of the fence of native plants.  The creative part will be seeing how much wood is salvageable and what I will use to fill in the gaps.  Things end, and things begin again. 

the pillow quilt (otherwise known as recycled down comforter) is big enough to snuggle under!

What if...I let go of saving special fabrics for the "right" project and just use them?  I get a wonderful, colorful comforter to snuggle under. 

All of these squares were stitched together by hand.  The squares were made on a sewing machine.  Each square contains two layers of fabric and is stuffed with down pulled out of an old torn down comforter that I was given.  The fabric on the outside is mostly scraps from other projects, but also favorites from the stash.  The inner layer is flannel reclaimed from 2 duvet covers that I made in the past but no longer use.  The only items purchased for making this were two spools of thread.  That would be less than 10 dollars in expense.  Just don't ask how long it took.... I'll be adding about 48 more squares.   

reflecting on the holidays

Handmade, the gift of experiences, the gifts of time.  Reuse, reduce, buy local, be green.  Gifts given with love.... and a gift for myself too (the futon cover).

The orange thing is a pair of mitts and a crocheted flower with a glass center. 

what I'm celebrating...hope, possibilities, and connections.

Fire and ice. 

homemade candy, it's the green choice

Unfortunately I have a horrible sweet tooth, especially for chocolate.  Finding out about some of the problems with mainstream chocolate might have curbed me of the problem, or maybe the price of fair trade chocolate.  But it didn't.  There is another solution, make your own! 

The easy solution is a handful of fair trade, organic chocolate chips and a handful of local hazelnuts.  That's my daily (umm... did I say daily, meant to say more usual, yeah that's it, usual.) solution.  For this time of year, I indulged a little bit.  Homemade truffles.  Super easy, made with chocolate chips, local butter, and local cream.  I was too lazy to roll them into balls, so they are truffle chunks. 

I also decided to try homemade caramels and will never buy a store bought caramel ever again.  Like the truffles, they are very simple, just takes a lot of time and stirring.  There wasn't quite enough organic corn syrup for the recipe so I added a little brown rice syrup.  It doesn't seem to make a difference. 

A traditional candy for my family this time of year is candied orange peel.  My mother has made these for as long as I can remember.   It's kinda funny to see this candy becoming so trendy.  If anyone is trying this candy, be sure to save the syrup that the orange peels are cooked in and the sugar that the peels are rolled in for sweetening something.  I use it for tea or for cookies.

I have to confess that I've gone around the green bend.  There was some whipping cream in the 'fridge that had been forgotten and was a little past date.  What occurs first?  Making butter and then making shortbread cookies with the butter. 

I've been nibbling on all this too much and should go for a walk, but the wind is starting to kick up and it's switching between snow and cold rain right now.  And I don't think Briar really wants to go anymore....

 
And a last note, I'm having way too much fun with a filter that I found, Poladroid  (via pia jane bijkerk) and taking pictures of the snow.  So much fun that I set up a photo album,  "captured winter" (over in the side bar), if anyone wants to look at a few more images. 

P.S. for mom:  the truffles taste completely different than your fudge, so be sure to save me some.  Unfortuantely the truffles are gone.  I'd be happy to make more.   :) 

mistletoe for Inspire Me Thursday

There's no mistletoe growing in my neighborhood so I thought I'd make some.  I hung my mistletoe on the branch where all my bird ornaments go (safe from the Hazel the cat).  While doing research I learned a couple new things.  Certain types of birds nest in mistletoe and that there are three species of butterflies that must have one variety of mistletoe in order to live.  More mistletoe at Inspire Me Thursday. 

From the stash of trash:  reclaimed wool. 

greener wrapping for presents

I haven't bought wrapping paper or bows for presents for many years now.  Sometimes I wrap with newspaper, sometimes I use paper bags that I've saved or maybe a piece of fabric.  This year I'm using strips of fabric for ties, no tape necessary.  If the garden wasn't buried in about a foot of snow, I would have included a sprig of an herb too. 

winter solstice

Sunrise December 20th, 2008

Dusk, December 21st, 2008

"--i do not worry if longer nights grow longest; i am not sorry when silence becomes singing"  e.e.cummings

I have recently learned that I love December for a reason that I haven't thought much about before.  I love the long deep nights that leave time for just being quiet....

snow watching station

a dress for Inspire Me Thursday

This is a photo of a dress that I took and then altered on the computer.  This particular prompt from Inspire Me Thursday really made me think about how I need to practice drawing more.  I had a few ideas that I could have accomplished most easily by sketching them, but not the time to draw until I had something I liked. 

Which sort of led me into thoughts of what makes something art? When is something just an image?  When does a photo become art?  Does it really matter if it makes you happy (either the process of doing it or looking at what has been created?)  Huge, huge questions that could go on and on....