resurrection fern

sea ghost meets tree ghost

Sea ghost

 arrived in the mail this week after a trip on an airplane across the Atlantic Ocean.

Lisa puts so much thought, love and skill into every little thing she makes. They would make wonderful gifts for the people you love or you could treat yourself, as I did, to a little LL&O magic. My little sea ghost needed a special little house made to remind him of the sea so I created one out of some small smooth sea stones, sea glass and sea pottery that had just arrived from this fantastic little etsy shop. They are collected from the beaches in Scotland. I am going to make some crochet covered necklaces with some of them.

It was so kind of lisa to include one of her hand embroidered with teeny tiny stitches whale pin. I immediately found my soft striped jacket and adorned it with the new patch and some pins from the sweet and talented becky. Sea ghost said the stripes reminded him of his maker, lisa and he wanted to hang out in the pocket.

Before long eggplant ghost got up out of the wooden bowl and joined in the fun.

In homage to the ghost for a ghost concept of nicole's I conjured up a new very special tree ghost yesterday that will soon be heading out on it's own trans atlantic adventure but I will save the pictures of it for another day.

Today will be devoted to colorful leaves and ephemeral art if all goes well. Have a wonderful sunday!

flipside

I just decided to take a new more positive approach to monday and think of it as the flipside of the weekend. This came to me yesterday as I was working on sewing in all the ends of the crochet covered stones sold on friday. No one even noticed or at least they were too busy clicking to comment that I had not posted any flipside pictures of my stones. Now I am confessing why that was , you see the ends were not sewn in or the stones signed and numbered.  It was beautiful porch weather to work on the custom merfish and with a needle sew in all those ends. 

There were moments when I felt someone was staring at me :)

Now I can show a few good back sides.

I am having a hard time parting with those last two. I think I almost love the flipsides more than the tops. I just had to give homage to the often ignored side in this little bit of ephemeral garden art.

The ladybirds were such a sweet addition. I love it even with out the stones.

My daughter and I packed up all the orders and they will be posted today.

The petals and flowers were released onto the stone bench and a snack of granola and fresh raspberries was prepared when I noticed a very special little friend on the bench. I hopped on quickly, grabbed the camera out of my pocket and of course I wasn't frightened in the least. 

Happy bench monday little miss muffet version!!!

hopeful for an etsy shop update tomorrow at 11 am

How is that for a blog post title. I honestly really want to be ready for tomorrow but it seems that other things are occupying my time and energy right now. I will still aim for that time but I am apologizing already just in case I don't manage it.

I will be doing the one covered stone per person for the first hour of the update. I think it worked out really well last time. I am also going to be offering a limited number of custom merfish or merfish necklaces since I definitely am not able to make that many ahead of time. You will be able to decide on your color of vintage crochet cotton and weather you want it to be a necklace or not.  I will have more detailed photographs up on flickr and here tomorrow before the update so please check back. What is up with flickr this week?  Some of my groups and sets disappear and then reappear later. I do hope they manage to resolve the issue soon. 

After this update I am planning on working on new screenprints, new directions for my art and working through my journal that is brimming with hopes and aspirations.

I have made my first two "layered" crochet covered stones. I used natural shades of vintage crochet cotton and the result is really subtle and lovely.

     

aromatherapy

A little of this weekend was spent learning to love again. Learning to love roses that is. I have had a secret (to all but my closest family) dislike of roses ever since my very first job in a flower shop at the age of 15.  Once a week in the shop we would receive huge shipments of long stem roses and it was my job to remove the thorns from the lower half of the stem with a sharp little knife. As time passed whenever I would see a rose I would only remember the stems, the thorns and recall the pain inflicted upon my then very soft and delicate fingers.  In my garden I have many different flowers but no roses.

I was away the weekend, spending some wonderful time with family but the weather was really unpleasant and so unseasonable. I must say it was getting me down. Early saturday morning, while the everyone was nestled in bed I went to rose gardens and was imbued with the scent. I collected some of the petals that had fallen after the rain in a little sac I always carry in my satchel. I opened it up later that day and the rose essence awakened my senses. In modern aromatherapy it is used to ease nervous tension and stress, and lifts the heart.

Can you smell the roses??

ETSY SHOP UPDATE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! I will be updating the shop with crochet covered stones, merfish, a few necklaces and some new prints on Monday, July 13th at 4 pm Eastern Standard Time. I have a few more stones to complete, some pictures to take and then I hope to have a preview up here an on flickr in a few days. This will be the only big update of the summer since I really need to focus on other things. I am considering putting a limit on the number of stones purchased so more of you will have a chance to own one. I would love to hear your thoughts on that idea. 

Small Etsy Shop Update

There will be a small shop update today at 9 am EST with a few crochet covered sea stones and merfish. 

The Tale of Two Little Etsy Shop Updates

I have decided to have not one but two little   etsy shop updates. The first will be at 1pm EST today and the second at 10am EST tomorrow.  In the shop will be a brand new print , some new crochet covered sea stones, some merfish and some very special patchwork covered sea stones similar to the one that appeared in this month's issue of Country Living. I am hoping for some lovely light tomorrow morning so I can get a chance to photograph some of the new stones before they get in the shop. 

Now all I have to do is finish off some patchwork stones and get a good nights sleep. 

the merfish are ready for the ETSY shop update today at 4pm EST

There will be crochet covered stones, merfish and new photographic prints of covered stones and merfish. Not everything I have made will be in the shop since I am saving some for my first art/craft show in Toronto next month, Love and Rummage. Some of the larger, heavier stones will be at that show to see if I can convince anyone to lug them home instead of me having to mail them. So if any of you happen to live in the Toronto area please drop by, enjoy the free treats and say hello. I will be the one with the vintage suitcase filled with stones. I have been very busy listing my etsy shop items but the merfish have been doing a wonderful job entertaining me while I work. I think the kitties have become jealous because there have been a great many more squabbles between them. I need to get back to listing and uploading so I will leave you with some pictures to enjoy. Have a wonderful friday and I hope to see you in the shop at 4pm EST. You don't need to buy anything , just stop by and have a look.

Robert D'Oilly, Baron of Hook Norton.

Robert D'Oilly ( born 1070) Baron of Hook Norton , Oxforshire, England was given his Barony on condition that he gave the king three shillings' worth of linen table-cloths per year. Since lace making was one of the specialities of the region, and because Robert wanted to show off, these table-cloths were beautifully embroidered by the D'Oilly woman, and were reserved by the king's household for great occasions. They were known as "D'Oilly's linens" and were the precursors for what are now known as doilies. This was my history discovery this evening as I was contemplating the lace patterns of my covered  stones.  The Baron of HOOK Norton, how funny is that. I wonder what the Baron would think of my covered stones. Perhaps he could have used them to defend his castle in a uniquely beautiful way. 

What I really wanted to do is share some of my newest stones with you. Some of these will be available on friday with the etsy shop update. 

That last one is my good friend Geninne's faux crochet stone. She really fooled me when I saw the thumbnail on flickr yesterday. These are such fun subjects for photography. Remember it is the last day to leave a comment under the post of January 11th for a chance to win one of these stones. Another reminder of the shop update this friday at 4 pm EST.

December 1st will be remembered for a long time

The day started at 7am with the end of a 24 hour bout of stomach flu caused by the small round virus I self diagnosed ( also known as norovirus or norwalk like virus or in Britian they call it the winter vomiting virus) . I was exhausted for a good part of the day but started to perk up about 2 hours before my shop opening. It was very exciting watching things fly out of the shop within the first hour. By that time I was feeling better than ever. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, wished me well, purchased a little bit of resurrection fern or mentioned my shop opening on their blog. You have all made my so happy and also healthy again. The little igloo snail wants to announce the winners of the trees. They are Jennifer and DeerDominique. If the winners could please email me their addresses I will send the prizes out to them. Thanks to everyone who left a comment. I can't believe just about every covered stone was sold . Only two remain in the shop. I had to take a group shot before they get packaged up and send off into the wide world. The only ones left in the shop are the boat one made with needlepoint lace embroidery and the littlest cameo style crochet covered stone. I am already working on the next update. You see I didn't put everything in the shop at once partly because it took so long to list everything and partly because I wanted to save some for the next update. I am thinking December 11th but I will confirm that later. I will have more covered stones, pinecones, ornaments and prints of some of my favorite photographs ( and your favorites too). See I have already been making some more. What a day that was and I am so ready for a wonderful sleep.

Opening Day, A Tutorial and a Giveaway

The shop opens today at 4pm eastern standard time if everything goes without a hitch. I have loaded it up with one of a kind items that I am sure you will recognize. Most of these items are not reproducible so when they are gone they are gone and it is highly unlikely that they would reappear in my shop in the future. I am already feeling sorry if anyone misses out on something they had their heart set on tomorrow but I can't really make more things than is humanly possible for a person with my career. To compensate for that I have done my best to motivate and inspire others to create beautiful things for themselves with all my little tutorials. So here is a new one just in time for the holiday season you can use as a decoration or gift for someone you love. These trees were born out of my desire to not waste any of the scraps left over from pinecone making. Materials: Fabric, scissors, foam tree form , 1 pin and a ruler Step 1. Cut fabric into two inch long strips . The take these strips and make little cuts about 1 to 1.5 cm apart and about 1/3 of the way into the width of the strip. Now round off the ends of each cut so that it looks like a scalloped fringe. The number of strips you will need will depend on the size of your tree but I used about 18 inches of each of 3 or 4 different fabrics. Step 2. Find a foam tree form or make your own like I did out of a block of florist foam. They are really easy to carve with a kitchen knife and you can make more realistic tree shapes in any size you want. It is also much less expensive than styrofoam and probably more ecological. Step 3. Start wrapping your strips tightly around the tree starting at the bottom. I let the scallop edge hang a little below the foam. When one strip is finished just start wrapping another one by overlapping slightly. When you reach the top place your pin in it to secure. href="http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54fc19bef883301053625845e970b-pi"> Step 4. Cut a fabric circle about 2 inches in diameter. Scallop the edge and then cut our a wedge from it. This will be the top of the tree. Step 5. Remove your securing pin and place the circle on top overlapping it to form a nice tight cone. Now secure this with your pin. I little pin really holds this together. My kittens have knocked them down many times and they are still together. To celebrate my shop opening I will be giving away these trees. Please leave a comment below but you only until midnight to do so. Tomorrow morning I will draw two names. Happy tree making and see you in the shop at 4.