little boxlings

So you've no doubt heard of the cuteness that is seed bombs, but this is for those of us with a wee bit more patience and some recycling on our hands. I find that these are a bit more gratifying to receive but much less inconspicuous to plant.

You will need:
plant seeds- I chose carrot, bell pepper and wildflower seeds.
a paper bag or newspaper or just old office paper for folding
Dirt, water& a sunny spot

I used a Trader Joe's paper bag because it was handy and because they say "recycle this bag!"

The bag will compost eventually when you drop your little seedling off in the wild wild world, or when you carefully transplant it into your garden space.

Step one: make a box. You will need a square of paper about 4.5x4.5inches.
It doesn't need to be perfect because you're just filling it with dirt :)


Fold your square in half each way, then unfold and fold in half the other way.

Repeat this diagonally. It will look like this:

Then, Fold the corners in to the center so they touch, unfold.

Fold the tips of the corners in this way:

and now fold each edge into itself and across diagonally:

unfold again, and then repeat all the way around of course.
Next, unfold completely, find a corner, point it away from you, and label it with what seeds you will be planting, like this:
(be as fancy as you like!)

Now fold two corners in towards the center,

Fold up their edges,

and then fold the ends up to close!

Finish the other side
(yay! a box!)
fill with dirt,sprinkle seeds in, water gently and set in a nice sunny spot until you're ready to drop it off somewhere lovely...and repeat!


These would make sweet gifts for your small friends, neighbors, or left in a pretty line at the park

raising a wild child

We love the outdoors. We don't have a lot of wild place to explore, but I want my Little berry to see that the world is beautiful. She notices the littlest things, a tiny bug, a bee on a leaf, a golden flower smashed underfoot. This week we played under the blossoming trees and built tiny houses for imaginary fairies, butterflies, snails.
I know she doesn't understand the concept of "imaginary," but she concentrates so hard helping. She fetches grasses and sticks with precision, plucks tiny violets and pebbles out of the way, waits for an ant to cross before stepping.
Here is where we started:
And when we finished, we had this tiny teepee of twigs:

capped with a lovely golden flower and a million brilliant rays of sun
Waiting to spin a little mystery into the everyday of some unsuspecting soul.

What have you taken the time to build with your child lately? Next time you're in the park, I challenge you to pause, find a small space, and make a fairy home (take pictures and share them with me if you do!)

The sweetheart bag, a tutorial

This is a very simple bag. The first one made of patchwork pieces takes longer as you have to sew together a few strips of different fabric. Do that first if you want to make that kind.
The first step is to chose two fabrics. I chose a pretty cotton print and a stiffer corduroy. The corduroy is for the liner, and help keep the bags shape, though it certainly isn't required.

Chose your bag size- I made two different sizes. I did not measure or make it perfect, just cut them into a square (you'll need two pieces of each fabric in equal sizes) that suited my fancy.

After you've cut your four squares (or rectangles if that's more your style) of equal size, cut a half-circle (this will be your bag closure) from each fabric. Place these right sides together and sew.


Then turn out and set aside.


Sew the right sides of the pretty outer fabric to the inner fabric just at the top



on the second side (this is the opening to the bag in the end), you want to tuck in the turned bag closure like this:

then proceed stitching those layers together. It should be -pretty outer fabric facing up, rounded circle closure, inner fabric facing down.

stitch those together securely, then turn like this:

and stitch the pretty fabrics together (wrong side should face out) and the inner fabric should not be tucked in.
It will look like this...

As you can see, you now have a sort of tube. Double stitch to make sure your seams are strong, then you're going to push the corners of the outer bag into triangles before turning the bag...

and stitch across in a straight line on both sides.


But wait! Now you want to stitch up the inner layer of fabric to make a long tube. Be sure not to sew down the flap which is your bag closure, and leave one side unsewn so you can turn it (I chose the very bottom)!

Now turn your bag...






Sew the space where you turned the bag right side out, put a button on the closure, and voila! You are done!
This is a sweet, fun project for any level sewer, you could make it larger and put handles on, leave the closure off for a book tote..or make it longer than mine and use it as a pencil case...have fun with it!

Making a mini terrarium

I know you are coming here just to see this. Right?
Well, Pappa Starbucks' Mom and Sister came over yesterday.
So I made a terrarium for his sister who is still just a kid. I wanted it to be fun and cheerful and a bit fantastic- like a mini fairyland in a jar. I've been saving glass jars and reusing them a lot lately (because suddenly I'm realizing all the things I need glass jars for!- buttons, q-tips and band-aids, embroidery thread, miniature toys that I keep for things like terrariums,needles,dried herbs, spices, ginger syrup for making ginger ale, candied orange peels that I made so I wasn't wasting the peels...and because they're deeeeelicious- etc)
I'm looking at my photos of this terrarium and a little disappointed. I've been "copping out" a lot lately and using my iphone camera for things I should just use the regular camera for. And I didn't take any pictures showing the side of the jar either and how full it is.
So Little Berry and I went on a walk taking this little jam jar that I had with us. We found a patch of moss and proceeded to find a piece about the size of the base of the jar. We also had a spoon with us and scraped up enough dirt to fill the jar about three inches. We gathered a few tiny grasses and acorns and took this all home.
At home I mixed in some richer dirt from a flower pot that was also much looser. And then we tamped the dirt down for the moss because moss likes firm surfaces. We placed the grass, acorns, and tiny bird next. There's about an inch from the top of the jar left.

Next I placed the polymer clay mushrooms. I got three packages of polymer clay at the check out at AC Moore or Hobby Lobby and made these mushrooms. It baked under five minutes and I chose to leave them unpainted. I would have left holes in the stems for pins if I had thought about it but they're fine without them and haven't fallen over at all.

I will definitely be making more of these. I think they would be really nice for college students or as gifts for young people getting their first apartment. Low maintenance (needs lots of indirect sunlight and occasional watering) and lovely to look at. Also is rather dreamy and I know a certain young girl I want to make one for still.
*I'm looking at you Caitlyn!*
--> on another note, I am looking for a seamless way to round the corners on my photos. I've tried photoshop (I only have 5.0) and can't get it to do what I want, and I haven't found any good online generators. Any tips besides buying a new computer?

The wrong way

Have you ever noticed that going through things together with your significant other either strengthens you as a couple or shows you a side you didn't know existed, or maybe ignored? Pappa Starbucks and I have been through a lot over the past year, good things and unforgettable experiences (like our trip to Europe for two months) and bad things (like graduating from college with no job prospects and coming back from Europe to not have a "home" anymore). Little Berry is a dream, but sometimes I get worn out being with her all day and let's face it, baby's don't measure out what they want from you in little request throughout the day. They want everything, they want it all the time, and they want it right away.
Sometimes I feel like I am failing to teach her patience, and just focusing on teaching her love, how to be happy, that I love her being sweet.
I know there is a balance. And from any outside view, we're doing a great job. But we disagree so intensely on the small issues that the big issues become pushed to the back of our minds. I know this is a recipe for disaster. I know that parenting is hard. Loving her is just the reward, the special reason that being a parent is worth it and the reason we all keep going daily. I have so much that I want for my life, and so much that I want for her life, and so much that I want for Pappa Starbucks' life that I don't know what to do first, where to put my passion. I want to do it all, and all well, but I'm not capable of that.
I take responsibility for other people's dreams and projects and desires, people not in my immediate three- and I do the best I can for them, but at the same time I am afraid I might be letting down the people who DO count on me. I can't be in charge of everyone's happiness and yet I want for us to all be happy. There is perhaps an easier way to say this, but it feels like I am being an underachiever because the only other option is to do everything, for everyone, so I please the people I know I can please, and I let the rest fall by.
I want to please, I have always been eager to make people happy. There are reasons for this, reasons I am just now beginning to understand but not willing to admit. There are consequences to treating myself and my partner and my daughter like we are last on our on list, but I don't know how to begin stripping away all of the problems and commitments that don't make me a better person, who I want to be, who I am, and focus on the ones that do. I am going the wrong way to get to my dreams but I am going to fast to notice it.

Missing

We all know what it's like to be busy, to be overwhelmed, to have more on our plate than we'd like. And sometimes it's not that we're busy, or too busy to do what needs to be done, it's just that we don't want to do what we need to. Oh, procrastination. The truth is, if I applied myself, I could accomplish a lot. A whole lot. I'm not what I would call a lazy person, but I am creatively motivated. By that, I mean I am highly motivated when it comes to things creative. Organizing the bookshelf thoroughly? Oh, I can do that. Baking bread? Absolutely! Folding the towels and patching Little Berry's pants where she wiped out too many times wore them out? Yes, yes! Sign me up. But when it comes to seeing that the bedroom isn't exactly in tip top shape or that the scum in our tub has began turning pink, well. I'm not the best at this. I look at it like this:
How long ago did I get on my hands and knees and scrub the bathroom/kitchen floor/ etc? And if the answer is more than a week ago I think
"well...I will clean it tomorrow."
And then the next day I actually DO follow through on those tasks and usually also end up doing way more than I *realized* needed doing. Of course. And then I get all huffy when Pappa Starbucks doesn't comment on how great everything looks, but that's another post.


What about you? How do you maintain a clean home?
(I'm talking to you, Nichole, Sharla, and Lynette!)
***And anyone else who might be following along here :)

Hump day

I am very unmotivated today. Well, unmotivated towards the mundane. I got up early, got a good start on the morning, and then Pappa Starbucks found out he didn't have to go volunteer at the Kipp School. So he was home and I spent more time chasing after Little Berry than starting the laundry or dishes, because when Pappa is home, she wants his attention. Naturally.
I DID make two dolls today already and then hauled myself away from the sewing table to do "chores."
At which point I didn't get anything else done except tell myself if I did get the laundry done and the bread into the oven and the floor vacuumed...that I could justify returning to the sewing.
This is one of those days I don't want to clean at all I suppose.
Here are some pictures of sweet things to look at...
Here are the two cuties I made today. This is Juniper. She has her head in the clouds just like I do today...

which she said was a bit chilly so we put together this little sweater for her

much better I'm told.
This is Gretta, who's feeling a bit lonesome and wants someone to snuggle and enjoy cocoa with. Per her suggestions I drew up a fellow and she's picking out his buttons, but a bit overwhelmed by the choices...

her choice is clear and her stitches certain.


and hump day is nearly over.