crafting...spring garland

In a former life I was a teacher.  When I taught art, I had 6 sections of each grade, first through fifth.  Organization was imperative!  I laugh at myself now when I can't keep it together with just 3 little beans!  Like the classroom, I prep the night before to make sure I have projects ready for when the day jumps into full swing.  The snow is still falling here in Chicago, so having our craft days definitely keeps everyone happy and busy!

We dyed up some coffee filters and added some cupcake holders to make some spring garland.  This project is an easy one for little tots like mine!

In the coming months I will be converting one of the bedrooms into a work room for our family.  All of my art supplies are currently spread throughout the house, so it will be awesome to have them all in one place where they will be more accessible.  Plus, it will be nice for the beans to have a place to go when they want to create and get messy!

Room inspiration for our work room...

via-Shelter Interior design

via-Design Sponge

via- BHG

via-Birch and Bird

via-The Creative Mama

I hope the sun is shining where you are!  Peace!

partying...

A Humble Creation

Boogieboard Cottage

end of week garden inspiration

A little garden inspiration to kick off the weekend.....Enjoy!  

Christopher Lloyd's gardens at Great Dixter House & Gardens

photos all via-Great Dixter House and Gardens

back to beading

It was the summers in the old bead shop that I remember best.  Back before I had kids, or was even married, I would go to my spot to hunt for beads.  The shop was on the second floor of an old building and the stairs going up were dark and narrow.  But it was the treasure at the top of the stairs that I remember the most, for when you opened the door you were blinded with the most magnificent colors which hung from ceiling to floor.  Beads!  Strands and strands of every size to any color you could imagine!  Old wood bowls holding trinkets and stamped metal pieces from all over the world covered the floors.

The woman who ran the store had a story all her own.  She was eccentric and enjoyed telling the stories behind each strand of beads hanging from those walls.  Her travels to other countries to find the best selection and the pieces she made for various movies were the tales that I remember her sharing as she sat and taught me how to make some of my very first necklaces.  She was a teacher.  The love she had for jewelry spilled out on to every person who came through the door.   The store closed down several years back and is currently only online.  Buying things online will never measure up to those experiences i had in that shop.  I hope there will still be unique shops around for my kids as they explore their passions.  You can check out the shop here...  Eye On Design

I use waxed Irish linen for my necklaces

Do you have a favorite old shop?  I hope it is a great day wherever you are!

Partying.....
Osie Moats
{Primp}
A Humble Creation

losing some grass with a little help from a friend

Berkeley California is on to something.  In April's edition of Martha Stewart Living, Stephen Orr highlights the front yard gardens that adorn this city.

 "On the side streets of Berkeley, California, exuberant flower gardens have supplanted manicured grass in residents' front yards.  These lawn-free swaths have become a very public art form-and just might inspire the rest of the country."

Orr writes, "You'd be hard pressed to find a single example of a conventional front lawn, and all the accordant chemical inputs and mow-and-blow maintenance crews to keep grass, shrubs, or flower beds looking perfect. Isn't that very idea-that a home doesn't need grass in its yard-an inspiration for the rest of the country?"

We have a lawn but we don't do chemicals.  This article has sparked my imagination and inspired me to do more!  To begin the process of creating a large island bed in our front garden we have been working on picking out a new tree/shrub to anchor the bed as well as provide privacy.

 I've been dragging my feet a bit because it is such a commitment to select the "right" tree or shrub for a space that you will be staring at for the next 30 years...God willing!  You can read more about it Here

To help push the process along I asked some talented folks out there for their opinions.  Laurrie at My Weeds Are Very Sorry not only has a stunning perennial garden, she has what she likes to call her "arboretum." When you visit her blog you will see her extraordinary passion for trees!  Laurrie's plant inventory on her blog (she has several) will leave you in awe.  It is organized and specifically details each tree/shrub in her garden.
  

She has answered my call!  Her email is an example of why I blog.  Someone across the country who has taken the time to help and teach me through her passion!  Thank you Laurrie!

Here is what she writes...

For something pretty that flowers, a crabapple or hawthorn or flowering dogwood would be lovely. I am definitely not a fan of kousa dogwoods (too big and dense and overpowering for a front yard), but flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida) are classic.

1. Flowering dogwood (Cornus Florida)

via- The Honey Tree Nursery

If you want something unusual, a sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum -- it's featured quite a bit on my blog) The sourwood will get tall, like 30 feet, but it stays narrow and it is such a slow grower, it would take forever to be that big.

2.  Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)

via-plantbuzz.com

Or a redbud (Cercis). Fantastic flowering in April, nice heart shaped leaves. It will get large. I had a Cercis reniformis, but lost it. Now I have Cercis 'Forest Pansy' and it has beautiful wine colored leaves, if you think dark foliage would suit the front of your house.

3. Redbud (Cercis-Forest Pansy)

via-OregonStateEdu

If you want a wilder, woodland shrub look, I am growing blackhaw viburnums as tree shapes (Viburnum prunifolium). They want to be multi-stemmed shrubs, so I am pruning off suckers and lower branches every year to get a nice artistic shape. They have gorgeous white flowers in spring, blue berries, and reddish fall color. I'll do a post.  But they can be tangled looking, not really refined. Branching is dense.

4. Blackhaw viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium)

Or maybe a corneliancherry (Cornus mas). It's a dogwood (really!) that flowers yellow in earliest spring, looking like a very refined, upright forsythia. It too wants to be multi-stemmed, but I am cutting off lower branches to get a single stem. 

5. Corneliancherry (Cornus mas)

via-Plantplaces.com

A doublefile viburnum is spectacular. (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum). It is not a single trunk tree shape, it is actually quite large and horizontal, but would be a great anchor in a bed if you have the room. Wonderful flowers and berries.

6.   Doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum)

via-Smith.edu

If your front yard has any shade, a Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), would be elegant, with horizontal, delicate branching, but I found they are hard to get. I do have one, but it is still quite young.

7. Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

via-Monrovia.com

By far the best choice for a front yard, though, would be an upright Japanese maple, and there are so many, your nursery could help.

8. upright Japanese maple

So in an effort to lose grass, gain a larger garden and to create privacy from the street I will be picking one of these lovely suggestions from Laurrie!  I like each one of them for different reasons.  Which one would you vote for?  I would love your feedback!

1. Flowering dogwood (Cornus Florida)
2. Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)
3. Redbud (Cercis-Forest Pansy)
4. Blackhaw viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium)
5. Corneliancherry (Cornus mas)
6. Doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum)
7. Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)
8. upright Japanese maple

Follow me through Bloglovin'

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4417423/?claim=t4ndh46u7tu">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Ok so this is not the coolest post but as I am getting word of Google Reader and GFC shutting down I am trying to get all of you guys over to my Bloglovin' page so that I can keep up with all of your wonderful blogs!  I hear that this is all happening July 1st and I'm not quite sure how this will affect all of us but I want to be ready!  What are your thoughts???  How are you all handling this???

guest post at ~rooms For rent~

Bre from the blog ~rooms For rent~ has an incredible design sense.  Her blog is fresh and her interior spaces are collected and chic.  The sign below is an example of Bre's amazing talents.  Creating unique handmade pieces for the home is just one of the many things that inspires me about her work.

So when Bre asked if I would guest post at her blog and share a few of my go to sun and shade plants for the garden I was thrilled!

You can find me today at ~rooms For rent~   I hope you take a moment to cheek out Bre's outstanding blog!

Here is to a great day!     

on the table

Some good eats to share....

Keeping with our mission to cut processed foods from our weekly meals, we have been trying new pancake recipes.  With some real maple syrup this one has hit the spot!

Sour Cream Pancakes 

{adapted from the Barefoot Contessa}

• 1 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon of grated lemon or orange zest
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• butter
• pure maple syrup 

1. With a fork, mix all of your ingredients in a bowl.  Stir until just combined.  Try not to over mix.
2. Melt a dab of butter in a frying pan and wipe up access.  Spoon in batter and wait for those bubbles before you flip!  The trick is to reapply the butter in between each batch. {we don't use cooking spray or non-stick pans because they just aren't good for ya!} I often put my oven on 200 degrees F to keep the whole batch warm so that we can eat together!  

I have posted this one before but something hit the fritz and it was erased.  I wanted to get it back up because it is a WONDERFUL cake filled with garden veggies.

Carrot and Zucchini Bars

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or raisins
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 {8 oz} package of cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon zest

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey, and vanilla.  Then mix in the carrot, zucchini, and walnuts....or in our case raisins.
2. In another bowl combine your dry ingredients.  Flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.  
3. Add your dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Stir just until combined. Spread batter into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
4. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in its pan on a wire rack.
5. When the cake is cooled you are ready for the icing.  With a mixer, beat the frosting ingredients until fluffy.  Spread the frosting on your cake and you are ready for a light and delicious cake!

Partying with...Chantille Fleur & I Should Be Mopping the Floor