We're Having a Giveaway!

Journals in detail.

What's this mosaic, you ask? Why, it's a group of detail shots of the three handmade journals we're giving away!

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
Please leave a comment telling us your favorite item in our etsy shop or on our website.

ENTRY DEADLINE IS MIDNIGHT THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2010 (Pacific Time) The three winners will be randomly chosen and notified on Friday, June 4th (be sure to leave a way for us to contact you if you win.) Please note that you must live in the USA to win.

The first journal up for grabs.

No two journals are alike. Each measures 9 3/4" x 7 1/2" with 100 sheets of wide ruled white paper made from 80% sugarcane pulp.

The second journal features pretty flower girls.

We created these journals using supplies offered in our etsy shop and on our website, which include authentic gilded Florentine paper from Italy, paper scraps from Germany and England and gold foil Dresden paper trims.

The third journal has an extra large pair of angels.

The inside covers are all lined with c. 1930s sheet music and the inside front covers each have a unique scrap or dresden as well.

A peek inside.

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday weekend! And be sure to visit Mary at Little Red House for more mosaics.

Making a Sailor's Valentine

Making sailor's valentines was a common craft in the early 19th century, practiced mainly by men on sailing ships at sea for months on end, as gifts for their sweethearts or mothers and sisters back home. You can continue the tradition with just a few readily available supplies and the design can be as simple or detailed as you choose to make it.

You'll need: a sturdy box (cigar, wooden, papier mache), scissors, seashells and glue. Foil paper trims and lace are optional. We're using a papier mache heart shaped box from Germany. We don't use glue guns, but prefer a quick drying glue like Alene's.

Keep your design simple and don't worry about perfection - no two shells are exactly alike and that makes them even more beautiful. When placing the shells, we work out from the center.

We've glued vintage lace to the base and trimmed it close to the box edge.

A band of paper Dresden foil trim finishes that edge. We've also added a band of paper foil inside the box, to continue the design from outside.

A vintage brass stamping of an angel finishes the top.

This box works well for small jewelry and other treasured pieces.

Keep in mind that you can paint your box or work directly on the original surface; Dresden trims come in a large variety of widths and colors; you can find a huge selection of seashells, both natural and colored, in our etsy shop.

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

Flowers Inside and Out

Is there any such thing as too many flowers? Not around here! From an antique pitcher of my great grandma's with cabbage roses and lilies of the valley to a yard long picture with white daisies inside, and hanging baskets of fuchsias and pots of foxgloves and columbines on the patio, we welcome flowers in all their forms and colors.

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

My Mom's Favorite Collection

For as long as I can remember my mom has been drawn to Vienna Art plates. With colorful borders, art nouveau styling and beautiful portraits, they fit in seamlessly with her other Victorian pieces and serve as wonderful inspiration for color combos as we design our ornaments.

Produced around the turn of the century, these metal plates were America's answer to the expensive hand painted German and Austrian portrait plates and were used as advertising and promotional items. Can you imagine spending enough at the general store to earn a gorgeous plate?

Be sure to visit Mary over at Little Red House for more pretty mosaics. And Happy Mother's Day!

A Weekend Tending to the Plants

Cool weather made for an ideal couple of days to spend gardening, and most of Saturday and Sunday were spent in the flower beds pruning, clipping, digging, planting and separating.

My lawn chairs even got a fresh coat of paint -- bright red and a creamy yellow to match the fiery colors that have replaced the irises and other bulbs.

Time not spent in the yard was devoted to adding items to and rearranging our etsy shop, plus a bit of website work and even some sewing. Phew! I'm exhausted! How was your weekend?

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

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.

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.

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!

Yellows and Blues

Here are a few everyday items, treats of the season and favorite crafty things. Our beautiful sunshine and clear skies had me drinking in the blues and yellows.

The ixias in the center top row are one of my absolute favorite flowers ever. I salvaged these stalks from a bit of heavy gardening earlier in the week.

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

Spring has Sprung

Click to enlarge.

The first day of spring was not one to disappoint: plenty of sunshine and lots of time spent outdoors at the beach and in the garden.

Some of you know that I've been an avid surfer since my teens and spend as much time as possible down on the beach and on the water. The center photo is of me at my favorite "secret" beach this past Saturday enjoying the sunshine and surf.

The other eight pieces of the mosaic, well, what can I say? The bulbs -- freesias, Dutch irises, daffodils --are all blooming happily and the nasturtiums and lavender are showing their colors as well.

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

An Almost-Spring Neighborhood Walk

click to enlarge

A few days ago blue skies drew us outside for a long-overdue stroll around the neighborhood. With cameras in tow and at the ready we set out on our favorite loop that includes a couple of good hills and plenty of pretty views. Funny thing... every single picture I took was a flower shot or had blue sky. Guess I'm more ready for spring than I thought!

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

Mosaic Monday

With Valentine's Day behind us, our thoughts have turned to Easter and springtime. We love vintage images on chromolithographed paper scraps from Germany and use them in cards, decorations and gifts. More of our favorites are here.

To see more mosaics please visit Mary over at Little Red House.

Mosaic Monday: Springtime Crafting

The calendar may still say winter, but we're getting in the mood for spring and busy filling our Etsy shop with all manner of colorful supplies. From hand made paper roses and forget me not flowers to spun cotton mushrooms from Germany and fancy ribbon trims in satins and velvets, we hope you'll find something that either sparks your creativity or fits right in with a project already underway.

To see more mosaics please visit Mary over at Little Red House.

Mosaic Monday

Christmas Day and the 26th my mom and I took advantage of the phenomenal weather with a walk along the beach and a local hike on trails through Torrey Pines State Park leading down to the beach. Here's a glimpse of what we saw, from left to right....

1. A view of the Pacific Ocean through the Torrey Pine trees.
2. Pretty seaweed at low tide.
3. Wispy clouds and backlit trees.
4. Recent rains have prompted a few wildflowers to bloom.
5. A building swell.
6. Two campers get into Christmas Day.
7. Hikers enjoying the perfect weather.
8. The lifeguards keep an eye on things from their beach-mobile.
9. Looking north.

Be sure to stop by Little Red House to enjoy all the wonderful mosaics!

Mosaic Monday: Deck the Halls

Please click to enlarge.

Being in the swing of decorating means inspiration is everywhere -- literally! We often put up over twenty trees of different sizes all over the house plus displays on shelves, table tops and, of course, the mantel. With collections spanning two generations, and constantly growing, bringing out our decorations is a tradition unto itself and something we start talking about around the end of summer. While we're by no means finished, we've got several areas well underway and, well, mostly under control.

Starting at the top from left to right:
•A small feather tree with icicle ornaments in the living room.
•A light yellow putz house.
•A golden tinsel tree with handmade ornaments.
•A vintage reindeer guards a bowl of blown glass nuts.
•My first Christmas card of the season, from my dear friend Tracy.
•A Dala horse stands in the dining room window while another small feather tree acts as table centerpiece.
•A vintage Santa -- he's the one thing that stays out all year.
•The living room by night.
•A treasured and whimsical blown glass bear.

Be sure to stop by Little Red House to enjoy all the wonderful mosaics!