Sunday, April 25, 2010

Pink Flowers in the Shop and Garden


I can't get enough pink this weekend both in the garden and in the shop! In the garden the pink flowers are dominating -- a big group of volunteer foxgloves is just starting to bloom and the impatiens are putting on quite a show. And in the etsy shop we've been busy adding new things all week -- scraps, Dresdens, German mushrooms, flowers and some very cool destash treasures.

Be sure to visit Mary over at Little Red House for more mosaics.

Friday, April 23, 2010

More New Shop Additions: Yellow Mushrooms

We're SO excited about these little yellow mushrooms from Germany! They arrived yesterday and are made of spun cotton with lacquered yellow caps and white spots. We're stocking two sizes of these guys -- a tiny 1/2" and a larger 3/4".

They fit in great with the others we currently stock in pink, blue, red, green, and brown. Click here to see them all.

They make such lovely additions to terrariums and can be incorporated into a plethora of projects. In Germany it's traditional to put them on the ends of Christmas tree's branches. I like to include one in a bouquet of flowers by wrapping it around a stalk. How would you use them?

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

New Shop Additions: More Venise Lace

We just couldn't resist these tiny venise lace rose bud appliques and now stock several different colors (find them here). Aren't they adorable? The remind me so much of things I found in my grandmother's sewing stash many years ago.

They would be so sweet sewn on a baby's hat or booties, and have so many uses... doll making, card making, jewelry design, lingerie, costumes...

We also stock a yellow rose bud trim in slightly different hues.


How would you use them?

Sunday, April 18, 2010

A Favorite Neighbor

This isn't my cat, but he hangs around the house enough to have his own bowl, brush and favorite hiding places in the yard. We've named him Thomas, though across the street at his real home he has another name. As the weather warms up he's around more and more, lurking in ferns and waiting for birds at the bird bath. If he comes over and isn't seen right away he likes to stand on the arms of the patio furniture and meow until he's noticed and let in for a bowl of whipped cream.

Be sure to visit Mary over at Little Red House for more mosaics!

P.S. There's still time to enter our giveaway over at JustSomethingImade.blogspot.com.
Enter for a chance to win a pair of handmade journals.

Friday, April 16, 2010

A Mother/Daughter Giveaway

This is just one set of journals that you could win!

We're very excited to be sponsoring a giveaway with one of our favorite blogs! Be sure to visit JustSomethingIMade.blogspot.com to enter to win one of three pairs of hand made journals, just in time for Mother's Day.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

New Shop Additions: Venise Lace

We're super excited about these venise lace pieces that we've just added to our shop. Dainty and soft with exquisite detailing, they make such lovely embellishments on everything from clothing to costumes to jewelry. With wedding season starting up, I can totally see a gorgeous bride's bouquet with the stems wrapped in delicate floral trim.

I can't decide which is my favorite trim... the flowers with leaves in white (above left) or the tiny rose buds in black (below right). My hands down favorite collar is definitely the pink one above.

To see all of our new venise lace click here.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Sunday, April 11, 2010

A Biscotti Recipe


Here's my favorite biscotti recipe reworked a bit to accommodate my goofiness about not eating refined sugar, only using wheat flour and loving butter.

1 3/4 c. wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. butter
2/3 c. honey
1 tsp. almond extract
2 eggs
1/2 c. chopped almonds
1/2 c. craisins

Preheat oven to 300*F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Measure and mix the baking powder, flour and salt. Set aside. Vigorously beat the honey and butter until well combined. Add the almond extract and mix well until completely combined. Add eggs and mix vigorously until as smooth as possible. Add wet mixture to flour and fold in gently until combined. Add chopped almonds and craisins and mix until evenly distributed.

Place dough on parchment lined tray in two equal portions. Dough is very sticky so lightly floured hands will make for easier shaping. Shape each log into rough rectangles measuring approx. 4" wide by 9" long and 1" thick.

Bake at 300*F for 30-35 minutes, or until edges start to lightly brown. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice each shape into pieces about 1" thick and turn each on its side. Return to oven for 15-20 minutes more being sure not to over-brown. Cool on a wire rack then store in an airtight container.

One major noticeable difference of using honey in place of sugar is the crunch: these end up being more like a crumbly shortbread cookie than a traditional hard, crunchy biscotti. They're not likely to withstand hearty dipping in coffee, but they're also very hard to resist and not likely to be around for very long. Does a whole platefull count as a proper meal?

Be sure to visit Mary over at Little Red House for more mosaics!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Old Stock Flowers and Leaves

We've just finished adding some absolutely gorgeous old stock flowers and leaves to the shop plus some beautiful contemporary handmade pieces. Above is a close up of a vintage German sprig of embossed velvet leaves with pewter colored berries in saphire blue.

Above we have more velvet leaves. The hot pink (yes, Tracy, I know ... pink!) and blue are vintage, the ombre on the left is contemporary. And below we have two colors of vintage German fabric narcissus separated by newly made red velvet forget me nots.

To say spring has sprung is an understatement! And these pretty flowers have so many uses, especially with wedding season starting up. Can't you see a gorgeous bride's bouquet of vintage millinery flowers?

Check everything out here in our etsy shop.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

A Surprise Visit

Thomas, the cat that lives across the street, showed up at my door this morning. He led me outside, proceeded to find a patch of dirt and took a furious, dusty bath.

Sometimes he stops by to chase a shoelace I leave on the fence for him, but not today. He was content to have a pinch of catnip and relax in the shade of the patio.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Flowers Inside and Out

Today was an Easter to remember for a rather unusual reason: a 7.2 earthquake centered in Baja California south of Mexicali gave us quite a good and long shake in the afternoon. Ironically, the quake was at a latitude of 32 Degrees North!

Otherwise we had a nice quiet Easter with splendid weather and good company. Here's a mosaic with flowers from the garden as well as flowers and textures that appear on some of my favorite inside pieces.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Be sure to visit Mary over at Little Red House for more mosaics!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Embroidery Continues

I'm on a huge embroidery kick and can't stop! Here are two more hand towels I started a while ago and have just now finished. This time I went major matchy-matchy compared to Geninne's bird.

I've also got a burro thing going on, too. Here are a couple of close ups: